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COPYRIGHT PEFOStT. 




ALL ABOUT 

AIREDALES 

by 
R. M. PALMER 



EIGHTH EDITION 



THIS BOOK 

Can Be Purchased From 

R. M. PALMER, 8447 RENTON AVE., SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. 



PRESS NOTICES 

"'All About Airedales,' * * * an interesting and valuable 
addition to the library of breeders and owners of this fancy * * * 
Gives useful information for all terrier breeders."— American Kennel 
Club Gazette, New York. 

"Brim full of valuable information for every Airedale fancier 
Th £. American text book for this breed. The largest and best book 
published on the Airedale." — Field and Fancy, New York. 

"Every person who owns an Airedale should read this book Mr 
Palmer, the author, is the man who first pumped the 'air'' into the 
Airedale." — United Kennel Club, Chicago. 

"This book certainly tells everything about Airedales * * * 
Every Airedale fancier should have a copy of it."— The Dog Fancier, 
Battle Creek, Michigan. 

"We are indebted to Mr. Palmer for a copy of his book 'All 
About Airedales.' We thought we had followed the Airedale game 
pretty closely since they first came over in 1881, but this book just 
goes to show what a specialist, and one imbued' with the real in- 
stincts of a breed, may do if he has the energy. Mr Palmer has 
the necessary dynamic force and what he has collected in this 
volume is a caution to snakes, as they would say where the Airedale 
comes from. Mr. Palmer starts him out of the obscurity of the 
unknown and a rabble of breeds, and does not let go of him until he 
has told everything the dog ever did, is entitled to do, or its possi- 
bilities. We didn't think there was scope for another Airedale book 
but with true Western broadness, Mr. Palmer saw further and has 
knocked together such a fund of information about the breed and 
how to rear it and show it and train it and hunt it or keep it at home 
as we never dreamed possible. Besides, the information about care 
and so on is just as applicable to other breeds of like nature Mr 
Palmer is an old setter man and we rather think we had the pleasure 
of first talking over the breed of Airedales with him when he called 
on us at Boston years ago, before he owned an Airedale What a 
change since then! At that time we don't suppose there was an 
Airedale west of Chicago, now look at them — scattered over the 
widest country, hunting big game, as we always maintained they 
should. But get this book — we fooled away an afternoon over the 
blamed thing." — H. W. Lacy, in American Stockkeeper, 30 Broad 
Street, Boston, Massachusetts. 

"Read it from cover to cover before putting it down. * * * I 
wondered as I read it, how anyone could give the public so much 
valuable information for so little money. If I could not get another 
book, it would be priceless to me. I'm glad you wrote it "— H T 
Treacy (Zanoni Kennels), Crestwood, New York. 

Price, cloth binding, $1.60; paper cover, $1.10 (post-paid). 




MR. R. M. PALMER 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



A Book of General Information Valuable to Dog 

Lovers and Owners, Breeders and Fanciers, 

Illustrated from Selected Photographs of 

Noted Dogs and Rare Scenes — The 

Airedale Terrier Reviewed 



By 
R. M. PALMER, A. B. 

(Amhe!rst College, '87) 




Dedicated to 

Z\l[ lovers and unselfish fanciers of the Airedale, whose 
Interest In the breed may prove to be such as to endow Its 
permanency with the best continual development possible to 
attain, which will for all time maintain the IVlredale In Its 
premier position as the BEST DOG ON EARTH. 



Copyright. 1911-1913-1916-1919 

By R. M. Palmer, Manager 

3-A PUBLISHING COMPANY 

Seattle, Washington 



First Edition ... June, 


1911 


Second Edition _ . January, 


1912 


Third Edition . . . January, 


1913 


Fourth Edition _ . January, 


1914 


Fifth Edition . . October, 


1915 


Sixth Edition . . _ October, 


1916 


Seventh Edition . . October, 


1918 


Eighth Edition . . . October, 


1919 


Published By 




R. M. PALMER 




Seattle, Wash. 





sftS 




**&#, 






Barkerend Rival 



m 1 9 1320 

©GI.A5U18I3 






TOPICAL LIST OF CONTENTS. 



5 



CHAPTER I. PAGE 9 

ORIGIN AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIREDALE TERRIER — 
Early History. A Sporting Dog. When the Breed Was First Recognized. Traits 
of Character. Guardianship. Widespread Popularity. Their Use in Alaska. 
The work of Mr. Paul Rainey's Airedales in British East Africa. Acute 
Hearing. Airedales in America. Three Airedales and a Cougar. 

CHAPTER II. PAGE 27 

PHYSIQUE AND STANDARD TYPE OF THE AIREDALE TERRIER — Impressive 
Individuality. The Size Question. Weight Discussed Importance of Quality. 
Count Henry De Bylandt's Standard of Points. 

CHAPTER III. PAGE 37 

THE KENNEL; HOW TO ARRANGE IT — The Chain and Its Proper Use. Treat- 
ment for Poison. Safety in Care and Location of Kennel. The Sanitary 
Kennel, How Planned. Fencing Yards. No Bedding Needed. Cleanliness. 
How to Kennel Quarrelsome Dogs. Dog Collars, the Best Kind. 

CHAPTER IV. PAGE 43 

FEEDING — Diet. When to Feed. What to Feed. What to Avoid. A Suitable 
Kennel Food. No Cooking Needed. Quantity to Feed. Approximate Cost. 
How to Feed a Kennel of Dogs. 

CHAPTER V. PAGE 51 

BREEDING — History Shows Its Steady Progress. A Pleasant Recreation and 

Unselfish Hobby. Perpetuating Averages. Type a Constant Study. The 

Sire, How Cared For. The Dam. The Principle Governing the Best Matings. 

When to Mate. Care at Whelping Time. Proper Diet for the Brood Matron. 

CHAPTER VI. PAGE 61 

PUPPIES; THIER CARE; HOW TO FEED AND RAISE THEM SUCCESSFULLY 
— Color and Coats. How to Handle and Care For. D'ocking Tails, When and 
How to Do It. Vermifuge, When Given. Weaning and Feeding Puppies. 
Diet for Puppies. Bone Growth and Proper Nournishment to Avoid Rickets. 
How to Crate for Shipment. Ears, Their Care During Growth. 

CHAPTER VII. PAGE 77 

HEALTHY AIKEDALFS— -How Kept. House and Yard Breaking. First Lessona. 
Punishment. How Administered. Fights, How Separated. Photographing 
Airedales, Some Helpful Suggestions. 

CHAPTER VIII. PAGE 95 

DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT— How to Give a Dog Medicine. Intestinal 
Parasites, How Removed. The Round and Tape Worm. Remedies. Rickets, 
Cause of and Cure. Mange, How Treated. Inflamed Eyes, What to Use. 
Cankered Ears; Sore Ears, How Healed. Wounds and Injuries. Salmon 
Poisoning. Fleas, How Rid Of. Distemper, How Successfully Treated. Dew 
Claws, How Removed. Table of Doses Commonly Used Medicines. 

CHAPTER IX. PAGE 111 

SHOWING AIREDALES — Valuer of Shows. First Appearance of the Breed at 
Shows. Registering, Conditioning and Trimming, What to Do. Helpful Sug- 
gestions About Showing and Handling. List of Champion Airedales. 

CHAPTER X. PAGE 123 

AIREDALES VS. HOUNDS — Relative Merits. The Hound's Limitations and 
Handicaps. Substitutes for the Airedale Tried. The Airedale as a Trailer, 
Discussed by Experienced Big-Game Hunters. 

CHAPTER XI. PAGE 133 
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR SPORT— Impoitance of Obedience. De- 
pendable Retrievers. Vermin Killing and Big-Game Hunting. Cleverness and 
Courage. Pulling Porcupine Quills. How to Pack a Hunting Dog. 

CHAPTER XII. PAGE 143 

AIREDALES IN CANADA. 

AIREDALE ANECDOTES — Most interesting, and a classic poem. Advertising. 



INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 



Cover — Frontispiece — Barkerend Rival Page 

The Author 2 

Barkerend Rival 4 

Lake-Dell Jerry 8 

Otterhounds 10 

A Trustworthy Guardian 12 

Mr. Paul Rainey's Pack of Hunting- Dogs in British East Africa 14 

Working Airedailes 16 

Champion King Nobbler's Double IS 

Peterson's Deader "Lake-Dell Whiskers" 26 

Head Study — Bilmer Ruler 28 

Champion Birchcliffe Oorang 31 

Champion Polam Maxim 33 

Champion Crofton Chum 36 

Plan for Kennel 38 

The Author and Some Kennel Favorites 41 

The Type That Produces Winners 42 

Champion Lake Dell Damsel 43 

Retrieving Ducks with an Airedale 49 

Champion Master Briar 50 

Champion Red Raven's Head 51 

Little Girl and 5-months-old Puppy 61 

Betty Marvel and Her Charges 63 

What Brick Did to a French Bull 67 

Something Here 70 

A Guard for Poultry 72 

Playing with His Pal 74 

A Puppy's Ears at Transition Stage 75 

Sit Up — Lake Dell Rags Asking for Her Just Reward 78 

The Airedale, a Sportsman's Dog 79 

Airedale Retrieving Quail 81 

Airedales Like Water (Lake Dell Rags playing) 83 

Big-Game Hunting Camp in Montana 85 

Airedales at Work on Big Game in Alaska 90 

An Exciting Moment 93 

Champion Illuminator 110 

Head Study Ill 

Champions of Both Continents 115 

Upland Shooting with an Airedale 117 

The Hunting Pack in Mountains of Montana 119 

The Ideal Big-Game Hunting Pack 122 

Coon Hunting with an Airedale on Puget Sound 126 

Airedales Tree Barking — Mountain Lion Hunting in Montana 129 

Staunch on Point 132 

"Pals" 133 

Airedales Working on Wild Ducks 135 

Black Bear Treed by Airedales 139 

A Water Dog 142 

Mr. P. Bawden with Three Favorites 143 

Birchcliffe Selected 145 

A Family Party 146 

Lady Marvel 150 

Helping the Family on Wash Day 151 

Will Know Better Next Time 155 

Briar and His Playmates 158 



&U about gtreoales; 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

In writing and compiling this book of information pertain- 
ing particularly to Airedale Terriers, the writer has aimed to 
present to the dog-loving public a book that will be equallv 
valuable to the novice who is a fancier of other breeds as well. 
The book does not attempt to give an extended history of the 
breed as a whole or of noted individual Airedales, for this has 
been admirably done by others, notably Messrs. Holland Buck- 
ley, James Watson, N. William Haynes and F. M. Jowett, all 
most valuable in their respective works. 

The author of this book during a period covering twenty 
years as an active dog fancier, has observed the apparent lack 
of helpful suggestions in many dog books, which he gives here- 
in as the result of years of successful ownership, breeding and 
practical experience. The old adage, "experience is the best 
teacher," in the case of dogs is only too true and it is the hope 
of the writer that the amateur fancier will avoid many 
stumbling blocks in his or her own experience by profiting from 
some of the information here given, much of which while 
seemingly simple, will be found to be such as to help many to 
avoid mistakes which are always most disappointing if not 
costly. This work is intended partially to satisfy a long-felt 
want in giving the thousands of fanciers of this breed, who 
have never raised or owned a dog of any sort before, something 
to help tnem along in furthering the usefulness, education and 
personal pleasure in the ownership of the Airedale. 

Its title is not to be considered too ambitious in the use of 
the word "ALL," for no book could possibly be compiled that 
would include "all" that could be written regarding Airedales. 
The title selected aptly indicates that the book's text is entirely 
devoted to the Airedale in depicting its diversified character- 
istics. 

The author is in constant receipt of personal letters from 
Airedale fanciers in all parts of America and many foreign 
lands, with most complimentary comments on what the reading 
of this book has been for them, and he desires to herein 
express his appreciation of same and trusts the new editions, 
which are periodically made necessary because of the wide- 
spread popularity of the publication, will continue to assist 
others in an intelligent and successful ownership of both good 
and better Airedales. 

No book is large enough to reproduce photographs of the 
thousands of good Airedales, past and present. Those selected 
show the Airedale in many of its interesting capabilities and 
also a few of the most representative Champion Airedales yet 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



produced, such that the reader can by them see pictured what 
has been recognized as the best individual type. 

In publishing this edition, the author is reminded that 
"All About Airedales" was the pioneer exclusively Airedale 
book published in America and unless the breed had proved 
itself dependable and fully up to what its friends claimed for 
it, the book would have been forgotten before the completion 
of this ten years of its distribution, but the Airedale today as 
a breed is stronger and more firmly established and growing 
into wider favor than ever before and the constantly increasing 
demand for "All About Airedales" from all over the world 
indicates its character as a book of enduring merit. 




Mr. H. W. Essclstyii's Sporting Airedale Lake Dell Jack. 



N. B. — The successful raising of Airedale puppies is so 
greatly assisted and made easy by having this book to refer to, 
many breeders place copies of the book with purchasers of 
stock. Special rates will be given any breeder who wishes to 
use the book for this purpose. Address: R. M. Palmer, 8447 
Renton Avenue, Seattle, Washington, U. S. A. 



CHAPTER I. 

ORIGIN AND GENERAL, CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 
AIREDALE TERRIER 

Origin. 

When authorities differ, 'tis folly to be wise: It is enough 
to state that the Airedale originated in Yorkshire, England, 
some fifty years ago, and eventually the breed being so much 
associated with the district through which the Aire River runs, 
took the name of the Aire-dale Terrier. This particular section 
of England was a manufacturing district, and the Yorkshire- 
man, always prone to a bit of sport, wanted in his dog not only 
a keen-bitten all-terrier dog, one that would never flinch in a 
pinch, but also one that could make himself practically useful 
in all sorts of hunting pursuits, whether nosing out mink or 
water-rats, retrieving waterfowl, or taking the trail of the 
otter, or winding the scent of upland game birds. Years ago 
when in conversation with the noted international judge, Mr. 
George Raper, who has for years been breeding some of the 
best known Airedales in England, and whose Yorkshire home 
has been always right where the Airedale originated, he 
remarked that those who were responsible for the making of 
the breed had but meager knowledge of what constituted their 
make-up, for they seemingly "just grew" into being, from a 
general pot-pouri of the sporting dogs in the dale of the Aire, 
which comprised all sorts and conditions of a dog useful to the 
poacher in his lone and stealthy encroachments upon privileged 
territory of the game preserves of his Lordship. Airedales were 
sent in to range the enclosed field, to drive the hares and 
rabbits out through the gates, there to be quickly netted. In 
those days the old-fashioned rough Scotch terrier was popular 
and used on vermin, also the old English wire haired black and 
tan terrier is said to have entered into the crosses which were 
made with Otterhound blood, which latter blood was linked 
with the terrier production, to gain the wonderful nose and 
scenting powers of this noted strain of old English hounds. The 
Otterhound had also the rough and wiry coat, most suitable to 
maintain in this then newly made hunting-terrier a sound, 
water, weather and brush resisting jacket. It is from this 
source that the Airedale of the present day gets his strongly 
inherent and wonderful scenting instincts, and his fondness for 
all sport that demands water-work and intense ambition in 
hunting and trailing. 



10 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 11 

While it is seen from this brief outline of the accredited 
origin of the Airedale, that it was made up of two or three 
or more breeds, not unlike many another recognized breed in 
dogdom of today, it should be borne in mind that he is not 
a mongrel because of it, as the Yorkshireman fancier used in 
the breed's make-up other recognized terrier breeds and the 
Otterhound, all in themselves pure as breeds went in those 
days, for their accepted purpose in getting the final result, 
which was then known as the Yorkshire-waterside-terrier, and 
also the Working-terrier. 

The past forty years of steady progress and improvement 
made in Airedale breeding has shown its ability to breed-on 
and retain the features of distinctive type and characteristics. 
Had the origin of the Airedale been otherwise than sound, 
sensible matings from breeds of decently pure blood, the result 
would have never bred-on and remained what it has always 
been and is, today, a type of hunting terrier, which embodies, as 
one writer puts it, "elegance, unison of build, thoroughness in 
dash and intensity of purpose; with such contour in his breedy 
appearance, and his known adaptability in all climates under 
any and every condition where he is called upon as a real 
companion to man." As early as 188 5, the Airedale was rec- 
ognized as a distinct and separate breed, and individuals were 
registered as such in what is the oldest organization of its 
kind in the world, the Kennel Club of England. Having briefly 
answered the question "What is an Airedale Terrier?" one 
which is so often heard, we will now turn our attention to the 
breed's general characteristics. 

Characteristics. 

While recognized by both the English Kennel Club and 
American Kennel Club under the name of Airedale Terrier, al- 
ready the name Airedale is so distinctive and special a cogno- 
men, as differing from the names of other breeds, that as time 
wears on, it would seem that the unnecessary Terrier append- 
age will be eliminated from even the Kennel Club list. An Aire- 
dale in character is in a class entirely by itself. No other ter- 
rier breed approaches his capabilities, and he possesses all the 
best qualifications of the other terrier breeds, even to a greater 
degree of perfection and satisfaction, and besides has those 
truly remarkable traits of the brainy hunting dog, that inspire 
profound admiration, respect and devotion, wherever he Is 
given a decent chance to show himself in critical situations, 
emergencies of mortal combat, and, in what has likely endeared 
his character to the world more than anything else, an absolute 
dependence and reliability accompanied by unstinted devotion 
to his master, even-tempered and indomitable courage, faith- 
fulness and true affection for family and master of sucn 



12 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




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ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 13 



superior caliber, that posterity will be heralding his praises 
centuries hence. 

Guardianship. 

While accepting friendly advances that are made to him, he 
does not reciprocate, and he recognizes but one master. A 
friend who has once won his confidence and respect, he never 
forgets, though years intervening have elapsed. Mr. H. Reeder, 
in Country Life of America, tells of an example of the discrim- 
ination used by the Airedale in exercising guardianship in- 
stincts: "While camping in the Northern woods, he was called 
suddenly into town, and left his Airedale Betsy with a 
neighboring camper. Betsy had no scruples about accepting 
the man's hospitality and shared his bread and roof until 
evening, but as darkness gathered she took unceremonious 
leave, and trotting back to her master's bungalow, stretched 
out comfortably at the top of the veranda steps. The neighbor 
feared she might get lost and followed. She arose at his 
approach and ran down the path to meet him with every sign 
of welcome. It occurred to him that he might as well take a 
look around, and he made for the veranda, intending to go 
through the bungalow. The minute he moved toward it, 
Betsy sprang to the top of the steps and faced him with an 
ominous growl. Surprised at the sudden change of front, and 
a bit alarmed, he tried to pet her, but she drew back with an 
unmistakable snarl and he deemed it prudent to retreat. Imme- 
diately she followed him down and became friendly again. He 
repeated the experiment, but once more she barred his way, so 
he abandoned the idea of going in and left her to guard the 
place. Had the beast been endowed with speech she could not 
have made him understand more clearly the stand she took: 
She was perfectly willing to be friendly, but only as it did not 
interfere with her duties." 

The Airedale shows a decided fondness for children. He is 
the ideal playmate for the little girl and pal for the boy on all 
his romps, always awaiting the favor of his little master's 
attentions. Hide and seek, or finding a ball, he will play by 
the hour. It is a common occurrence to see an Airedale insep- 
arable from the baby carriage when its precious load is out for 
a sunning, and the writer has known many that would not be 
tempted to leave their infant charge by any diversion, but 
faithfully and incessantly guard the little one as long as per- 
mitted to do so. There is no breed of dog so desirable to 
raise a child with or one in which so much trust can be placed. 
The illustration on the preceding page shows but one of many 
similar situations, with the Airedale ready to play the heroic 
part of guardian and life-saver. In this instance, the occurrence 
is at the seaside. The little child was possessed of a dangerous 
fondness for approaching too near the water. The Airedale, 



14 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 15 



ever alert in an emergency, takes immediate control of the 
situation and with his firm grip and sure but gentle insistence, 
holds the screaming child safely, until the fond mother is 
attracted to the scene, which is fortunately caught by her 
cleverness with a pocket camera. 

Widespread Popularity. 

The Airedale has not proved to be an over-estimated breed, 
nor one that was destined to come and go, as so many others 
have done, only to be read about in the annals of canine 
history: Airedales were seemingly created to fill a well defined 
want and need, for just such a dog as they are. Their popular- 
ity has been increasing the world over as years have rolled by. 
They were not destined to be localized in some one country for 
a limited fancy to enjoy: The world is too eager to get hold of 
and enjoy all 'the real good things, while it passes through 
this brief mortal existence and the open secret of what a won- 
derful breed had been developed in this breed was bound to 
spread to all lands, and human nature being much the same 
everywhere one goes, even to the remotest parts of the earth, 
the Airedale is filling his place in the life demanded of him. 

In Alaska, with temperature at 50 degrees below zero, they 
are used to haul the hunter's and miner's provisions from 
town to camp, Mr. Chas. Emsweiler, a hunting guide of Seward, 
stating that his brace have carried for miles three to four 
hundred pounds of moose; or, they are trailing and holding at 
bay big game for the fortunate hunter who has been lucky 
enough to come into possession of one or more. In the tropics 
of Africa, during Col. Roosevelt's hunting trips, we heard 
tidings of the Airedale there, always ready for the fray, and 
among the various breeds of hunting dogs accompanying Mr. 
Paul Rainey in his hunting explorations in British East Africa, 
the cleverest and most courageous work was done by two Aire- 
dales. Through the courtesy of Mr. Rainey's representative, 
Mr. Rice, in charge of the motion-pictures, one of the most 
exciting scenes pictured in same is illustrated here. Mr. 
Rainey has always declared that the American hunting dog 
was equal in contending with the fiercest of wild beasts. He 
took with him on his expedition a pack consisting of hounds for 
trailing, wolf hounds and two Airedale Terriers for the killers, 
all bred and trained in Mississippi bear hunting. The notable 
stamina of these dogs on the hunt and their courage in the 
face of powerful and to them strange animals, demonstrated 
the truth of Mr. Rainey's contention, as will be conceded by 
any dog fancier who sees these pictures. It is generally 
believed that dogs cannot climb trees, yet one of the most 
thrilling of the scenes of this expedition shows a leopard posed 
ai. the top of a tree in majestic grace, as a place of refuge from 
the pack in close pursuit, until these two Airedales dumb up 



16 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 





Working Airedales, Owned by Chas. Emsweiser, Alaska 

(1) Lake-Dell Vic and Lake-Dell Tackier hauling- camp supplies. 

(2) Alaska Grizzly bear killed near Seward, brought to bay by 
Vic and Tackier (in background). 



ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 17 



tc him, and, snapping at his feet and haunches, force him to 
leap from the top of the tree to earth, where the other dogs 
mix in a melee with the animal. This is one of many interesting 
and exciting incidents shown in the Rainey films. The illustra- 
tion of this rare scene is an instantaneous reproduction of the 
moment the leopard leaps from the top of the tree, the two 
Airedales dimly visible close to the top where the animal had 
sought a safe retreat. In the moving pictures the quickness 
with which the Airedales climb the tree and go up through the 
branches is remarkable, and they are the only dogs attempting 
to do this of all the pack. In another scene, when hunting 
lions, the Airedale is shown as the only dog with enough 
courage to dash into the thicket where the lion has sought 
refuge and rout it out for another chase by the pack, that has 
surrounded the thicket and are baying their prey. These feats 
of dare-devil gameness now shown throughout the world in 
these motion-pictures have given the exceptional prowess of 
the Airedale most merited publicity. In Mexico, the Canal 
Zone and South America they are likewise in demand by those 
who have the opportunity of knowing them and are a dare- 
devil companion for the rough life of the country, as well as 
for lion and boar hunting, which latter tests the courage of a 
dog to the limit, for a wild boar will cut up his antagonist if 
given the chance more than any other wild animal. Then again 
in the Philippines and the Orient we hear of them giving good 
accounts of themselves, and on the continent of Europe, in 
the English and American armies they have established world- 
wide fame for their cleverness as most dependable message- 
bearers, for post duty and as sentinels on outpost duty with 
scouting service. 

Airedales in India. 

The following letter from Mr. T. C. H. Shaw, prominent 
as a breeder and judge of Airedales in far-away India, is 
another evidence of the wide-spread popularity of the breed: 

"Rawalpuidi, Punjab, India, June 3, 1918. 
"Dear Sir: Kindly send me one copy of "All About Aire- 
dales," latest edition. I am at present trying to form an "All 
India Airedale Terrier Club" as the breed is coming up by 
leaps and bounds in favor. I also hope to later write a book 
on this breed in India. Most of my Airedales I keep purely 
for exhibition, but I have noticed their wonderful intelligence 
and that they make great pals. My kennels (the Donnybrooks) 
are the premier kennels of this breed in India. I hold the 
Indian record for the largest number of first prizes won in 
India in this breed by one dog and the first Indian made 
champion and this was done by my old dog Champion Simon of 
Donnybrook. He is mad on the gun too. I have here also the 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




International Champion King Nobbier' s Double 

(Courtesy Mr. Norman Mackenzie) 



English Champion Donnybrook Felday Countess (great gran- 
dam of Ch. Rhosdu Royalist). She is a wonderful watch dog 
and a demon in water and after ducks. Champion Simon was 
bred in India. There are Donnybrooks all over India nearly. 
At present I have about seven of my Airedales away on service 
at different centers of war, some in Mesopotamia, some to 
Palestine. Most of these have gone out with officers of Indian 



ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 19 



regiments as pals, guards, etc., and I hope they will get service 
medals. I must say I get good fun hunting jackals with my 
Airedales and I have had these pulled down singly hy 
my dogs." 

Police Dogs. 

As Police Dogs their wonderful feats of cunning and brain 
work are chronicled occasionally in the press. In this sphere 
of usefulness, the Airedale is readily trained to be both pro- 
tecting guard to patrolmen and a quick assistant in stopping 
an escaping fugitive who dodges into a dark avenue of escape 
beyond the reach of a revolver's range. Airedales become very 
proficient in knowing quickly their duty in stopping the fugi- 
tive an officer is pursuing and when hidden will follow the 
trail into hiding places and hold at bay the culprit until forced 
out by the arresting officers. Such use of Airedales is grow- 
ing rapidly in the larger cities and giving most satisfactory 
results. Being much quicker in action than trail or blood- 
hounds they are more valuable in criminal service and when 
given the same detailed training become most proficient. Their 
undaunted courage in being ever ready to search premises for 
petty thieves, burglars or criminals, make them the most 
dependable breed for police service. In France they are used 
to prevent suicides from drowning, and in a public contest held 
in Germany, which included all breeds, doing the same rescue 
service, the Airedales took first honors over all contestants in 
other breeds. 

Acute Hearing. 

In England, their native land, by experiments in determin- 
ing the comparative degree of the Airedale's exceptionally 
sensitive hearing, by Scotland Yard, they have discovered that 
the Airedale can detect sound at a distance of hundreds of 
yards farther than the most acute human ear. These scientific 
tests have been reported from time to time in the English press. 
This keen faculty the witer has seen illustrated frequently with 
his own dogs: One instance in particular was that of a family 
companion, who while apparently dozing on the floor of the 
house living room, would suddenly start up and rush to window 
or door, all aroused over the detection of her master's 
approaching, when he was three to five hundred yards away 
on cement paving, beyond any possible distance of the hearing 
of the human ear. This incident was so repeatedly tested by 
those who witnessed it frequently, that the results of English 
experiments are readily to be given full credence. The use of 
this faculty is put into practical service in the English army, 
by training Airedales not to bark at strange sounds at night in 
trench warfare but to utter a low growl and in this manner 



20 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 21 



give warnings of stealthy approachings of an enemy, not 
detectable by the human ear. 

A Profitable Breed. 

Airedales have become in England and America the most 
profitable breed in a commercial way, if one can judge anything 
by the generous values that are being paid for noted indi- 
viduals. There have been a number of purchases of English- 
bred Airedales at prices ranging from $500 to $2000 and $3000 
each, within the last few years, so there is from this standpoint 
no longer any disputing the value of what breeders have 
produced in careful attention to improvement of individual 
type. 

Airedales in America. 

In America the fancy for the Airedale is a general and 
wide-spread one, as they are found in every State and Territory 
in the United States and every Province of Canada. They are 
the faithful companion of the tender child at home in family 
life, and a trusty guard for its safety. 

The city fancier enjoys his companionship at home or in 
cross-country tramps, when the Airedale is always busy and 
ready to find something of interest, whether varmints or 
shaking a mountain beaver or treeing some noisy squirrel or 
grouse, or even roading a bevy of quail, all for the fun of it. 
If a swim is at hand, he is the first to enjoy it, and stands 
ready to retrieve anything; or, if at the shore, handles him- 
self most dexteriously in the surf, and in shoal waters the 
writer has witnessed an Airedale fish for hours at a time, 
running up and down the flats, following the little darting fin 
bearers, with head under water seemingly as often as out. 

This suggests the relating of a "real" fish story, concerning 
a hunting Airedale owned by the writer, by name of Lake-Dell 
Gotch. He had been out for a season's work and the hunter 
who was using him, frequently used boiled fresh salmon for his 
dog-feed, taking these from the abundant supply in the valley 
streams. He secured them by spearing the fish in shallow 
water. Gotch always wanted to go along and watched eagerly 
the process. He soon was to be seen wading and chasing 
some good sized fish toward the bank, and by comical 
maneuvers gradually get him into the pocket of some edge, 
until by a quick grab he caught him by the tail, and rushed 
out with the fish for dry land. At first his failures to always 
land the fish were amusing, and they would frequently flop 
back into the water until he learned to carry them a safe 
distance from the stream. One evening on reaching camp, 
Gotch had disappeared, and he did not turn up the next day. 
That evening some timber cruisers passed us and told us one of 



22 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



our dogs was down by the river fishing. When we found him 
he was barking merrily off in the woods, guarding a pile of at 
least fifty handsome big salmon, and having a hard time to 
keep the live ones from flopping away. He was a happy dog, 
and proud of his labors. 

The farmer and rancher has found in him a dog that com- 
bines more than any other breed everything that is useful in a 
dog. He loves to continually hunt for and exterminate all 
vermin and pests to poultry, and the stray cat is but a tussel 
of a second and he has it disposed of. The sheepherder and 
cattleman finds in the Airedale the one dog they can depend 
upon at all times to quickly sound the alarm of molesting 
maurauders being about, and are willing assistants in driving 
away the howling and mischievous coyotes and, when it is 
possible to corner one, will single-handed kill it with despatch. 
The Airedale will drive sheep or cattle like a collie. Coons 
and the bob-cat they dearly love to hunt and kill as well, and 
when the rancher finds his place regularly visited only too 
early for his slumber by coons in the chicken coop or a visit 
from the destructive skunk, if he is without an Airedale on his 
place, he begins to think it's about time he had one, for 
nothing ever destroys bird or animal life on farm or ranch 
without an Airedale knowing it and he loses no time in the 
dispensing of the enemy instanter, and all so naturally and 
willingly, without guidance or suggestion. They are wonderful 
retrievers from water or on land. 

In the United States Forest Service throughout the West, 
the Rangers have rather generally adopted the Airedale as 
their companion-dog for their life in the wilds. 

The mountain hunter and trapper have come to find in the 
Airedale a dog par excellence for their life. The slightest 
movement in an adjoining thicket, he hears and detects 
instantly, or he scents distant game long before one has any 
idea of its presence, leading his master still-hunting to it, or 
if allowed his freedom, going off with a bound and a pace that 
no other dog can surpass, out of sight and hearing until he has 
rounded up his quarry and has a bear at bay in some recess, or 
cougar treed, or bob-cat cornered, when with unceasing and 
noisy tongue he tells the story to the otherwise peaceful hills 
and dales, that he is there to stay hours if needed until his 
hunter-master comes to put an end to the wild prey of his 
finding. Instances are reported of the Airedale staying with 
big game treed for two days' time and more before found. The 
writer once had a yearling Airedale stay twenty-four hours 
until found with his first black bear. 

The persistence and undaunted courage of the Airedale is 
well illustrated by the experience of the former U. S. Hunter 
for the State of Washington, P. C. Peterson, who in the winter 
of 1908 had been out for a day's hunt to locate a cougar 
(mountain lion). After a day's hard hunting with his three 



ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 23 



Airedales and several hounds, a severe snowstorm came on, 
which, together with the approaching night, compelled him to 
retreat homewards. En route the dogs treed the cougar several 
miles from home and, as it was getting pitch-dark, and snow 
blinding, he could not see the prey, but only hear his snarls in 
tbe top of a mighty cedar. With great difficulty he finally 
got the dogs away from the thicket and hurried home. When 
about half way, he discovered one of his best Airedales, Pedro, 
was missing and a hasty search for him was of no avail. He 
was almost lost himself in controlling the other dogs, and had 
to abandon the search and reach safety himself. Being a man 
devoted to his Airedales and their courage, as soon as the three 
days' blizzard had abated, and Pedro had not returned, he 
retraced his travels to the scene of the cougar's retreat, in 
hopes of possibly still finding the dog, only to find when once 
there but mute evidence where with snow packed down ten 
feet in depth, Pedro had gamely made his last sad stand in 
listening to the "call of the wild" while maintaining his lonely 
vigil and guard, but which alone he could not survive with the 
handicap of snow too deep to withstand the severity of the 
elements. 

"On the kennel floor the chain lies 

Where it lay a year ago, 
Rusty, knotted, wound in cobweb, 

Where cold spiders hide below. 
Creaking on its unused hinges 

Swings the loose door to and fro, 
And the kennel door is mildewed, 

Dampened by the sifting snow. 
Now there is no dog to care for, 

Silence only when I call," etc. — Morris. 

As Airedales have grown more and more into public favor, 
they have fortunately had the benefit of the patronage of well- 
to-do fanciers, who are always on the alert to get hold of any 
really good new dog in the breed. 

Each season, the rivalry will continue in securing fame for 
the leading Airedales of the day. Heretofore many of the 
best champion Airedales have been imported from England, 
but the American-bred winners are appearing more frequently 
and it is only a matter of time until some of the greatest dogs 
in the breed from the standpoint of perfection in type will be 
bred in the United States and Canada. Singularly enough in 
England leading authorities in 1915 accorded to the bitch 
Champion Dargle Deputy the distinction of being the best 
Airedale in England. That Canada is coming to the front, in 
the importation and breeding of Airedales, is a fact becoming 
known to all, but as yet the public may not generally be aware 
of the class of Airedales which are being used in our neighbor- 



24 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



ing country. Mr. Norman Mackenzie of Regina, Canada, 
among others, during 1915, brought out a notable importation 
in the dog, Champion King Nobbler's Double, and has in recent 
years brought to merited international championship the im- 
ported dog Polam Maxim. 

So much attention has been given to improving the breed's 
general appearance, that whereas in its early days the Aire- 
dale was a shaggy, rough-looking customer, as homely a canine 
as ever seen, the modern type of Airedale is as smart and toppy 
as any of the terrier breeds. This fact is peculiarly creditable 
and praiseworthy in view of the necessity all through its 
development of maintaining the characteristics of the original 
purpose of the breed, namely, in having a thoroughly game 
fighting dog, one endowed with a most powerful physique, 
size and stature for endurance and hard work and also the 
rarest hunting instincts. The Airedale originated as a working 
terrier and a hunting dog he will always be, as all terrier 
breeds had lacked the scenting powers of the hound blood until 
it was so successfully introduced and maintained in this breed. 

A First Impression. 

The following letter is an amusing account of a first 
impression of the appearance of an Airedale puppy, received 
by W. W. Titus, well known as a veteran field trial handler 
and fancier of sporting dogs: 

"Dear Sir: The rag and bone and hank of hair came all 
right and don't you forget it. My nigger came home with a grin 
on him so wide he could hardly get through a twelve-foot gate. 
'Bos,' said he, 'some dem yere Yankees dun sent you a fices.' 
But this is neither here nor there. 'Frills,' as we call her, 
though not a yard wide, is all hair. She was the scariest dog 
I ever saw, but after awhile she lost her wildness, and now 
wants to follow everywhere. If she has any breeding, let's 
hear it — judging from her looks she must have run altogether 
to breeding. If I can keep my nigger from tying her to a stick 
to wash windows with I believe she will grow into a full-sized 
dog some day. Thanking you for your kind attention and inci- 
dentally for selecting for me such a handsome specimen of the 
Airedale breed, I am most humbly yours, 

W. W. TITUS, Kennel Review." 

Not unlike the modern mechanical tool with its dozen uses, 
so the Airedale in dog flesh has filled the human craving for 
an all-around dog, one that combines enough distinctive and 
inherited traits of character that he can be developed to meet 
every use, whether the requirement be such as to call on his 
purely terrier aggressiveness and killing powers or his natural 
ambitious hunting instincts, be it for feathered game or the 
pursuit of big g me. 



ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS 2 5 

Such a breed with its every-varying sporting tendencies is 
certainly one which the world has much room for and its 
widespread and universal popularity has but begun, for the 
Airedale fills every want and need that the human race can ask 
a thoroughbred dog to serve: He embodies a naturally quiet 
and reserved temperament with one that is up and coming the 
moment there is anything doing. It is exceptional to find the 
noisy temperament in the Airedale, like some other varieties of 
the terrier family. They are naturally mute except when 
excited to something worth while. He is game to the core, 
does not carry a grouch about with him and is ready to fight 
to the death when occasion demands, and no dog lives, of 
equal weight, that is a match for an Airedale once aroused: 
Airedales are peculiar in this matter of being aroused to a 
situation of perhaps imposition from another dog before their 
fighting blood is up. They will be most indifferent and yet 
ever ready, and the instant they are attacked, they are all 
there in a second with actions so quick and forceful that 
lightning seems slow in comparison, for with punishing jaw 
and great strength they are seldom bested. Don't ever worry 
about the safety of your Airedale when attacked by a street 
dog; he will take care of himself and if in unequal battle, he 
will find some clever way to cover. The writer had occasion to 
know of a case in point: Two Airedale pals, Guard and 
Caesar, one an exceptionally small specimen, yet chuck-full of 
fearless grit, and the other a slow, sober, but large, husky 
individual, were attacked on the street by a termendous brute 
of a Mallimuth, one of the eighty-pound sort. These Northern 
dogs are wolf-like in nature, have sharp cutting teeth, and a 
coat with the density of a bear's hide. They are powerfully 
built and are always dangerous assailants to man or beast. 
The two Airedales realized the utter hopelessness of meeting 
him in the usual form of battle and instinctively seemed to 
understand each other's predicament at once, for while the 
larger dog fastened onto a throat hold, the little chap took the 
hind quarters, and when found, they had the Mallimuth 
stretched out tight, hors de combat, and they had held him 
there some time and would have certainly killed him had they 
not been discovered and driven apart. 

The following letter illustrates an incident of the gameness 
of three Airedales in a tough encounter with a cougar: 

"North Bend, Wash., Jan. 9, 1912. 
Dear Sir: * * * The next morning I started for Nortb 
Bend, Jack and Togo carrying their packs of camp necessities, 
and only got into the edge of the clearing when I missed 
Whiskers. I called to him several times only to find out that 
he was on the track of a cougar that had passed within one 
hundred yards of the cabin during the night, and as the snow 
was very hard it took me several minutes before I discovered 



26 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



the cougar track. I turned Jack and Togo loose and they 
soon caught up with Whiskers, and in less than one hour I 
heard the three dogs coming towards me in full cry. A half- 
grown deer ran by me, and next after the deer came the cougar 
and the three Airedales. When, seeing me, the cougar turned 
back in the direction he had come from, but Jack was there, 
first in the lead. He flew right at the cougar's throat and the 
cougar, going pretty fast, turned clean over, when, quicker 
than I write these lines, Togo and Whiskers had him by the 
hind quarters. Just about that time I got my little Mauser 
pistol into action, and the first shot broke the cougar's neck. 

P. C. PETERSON." 




Petersen's Leader "Lake Dell Whiskers" 

Showing- type of one of the gamest and most experienced hunting 

Airedales that ever lived. This dog was hunted nine years until 

finally killed in his last encounter with bear. 



CHAPTER II. 



PHYSIQUE AND STANDARD TYPE OF THE AIREDALE 
TERRIER. 



Appearance. 

The Airedale of today is distinctively a terrier paragon. His 
physical individuality is impressive at first sight, as all know 
who have had occasion to lead one or two through a city's 
streets and had the constant interested inquiries from 
strangers to answer, who want to know all about them. Aire- 
dales should have a clean-cut terrier appearance, handsome in 
the placement of their richly contrasted coloring, coupled 
with a characteristic dignity of bearing and self-contained 
activity. 

The Airedale is an upstanding dog, proud of bearing, ever 
alert and interested without the semblance of a toy or light 
weight in his build, showing much prowess, zeal and vigor in 
abundance, curbed only by his excellent temper, and as sound a 
jacket as the present-day breeder can give him, in density and 
hardness of coat and color to suit the dog's lineage and popular 
favor. His running gear must be uniformly put together, to 
permit Of great speed in the chase, requiring the toughest of 
feet, chest deep and ribs well sprung to give great lung 
capacity. Withal a dog of good station, which embodies 
effective power in combat. 

Size and Weight. 

Size and its accompanying unmistakable embodiment of 
power and invincible strength is a natural first impression of a 
good Airedale. This size question has been a changeable one 
in the Airedale's development from its early days. In December, 
1879, Mr. Reginald Knight, of Chappel Allerton, Leeds, Eng- 
land, then recognized as the leading exponent of the welfare 
of the breed, furnished Mr. Vero Shaw an estimate of the breed 
for the "Book of the Dog," and gave a standard, which was 
signed up by seven of the leading fanciers of that day in 
England. Weight was given as 40 to 55 pounds for dogs, and 
3 5 to 50 pounds for bitches. This was in the days when the 
influence of the Otter Hound crossing and recrossing, back 
and forth with terrier blood had maintained the hound size 
largely, with also its houndy ears and ungainly appearance. It 
is well to bear in mind that the Airedale was not produced 
from one mating, or any succession of limited matings and 



28 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



crosses, but rather required years to develop and establish 
its constantly improving form, due to the ambition of judicious 
breeders and fanciers to constantly build up and strengthen 
terrier characteristics: This eventually seemed to carry the 
fancy to the other extreme, for it was not so many years before 
the Kennel Club of England, to satisfy the fanciers of the 
breed, that were showing the breed and advancing it into one 
of the most profitable show-breeds in England, was influenced 
to formulate in its standard requirements the size question to 
a maximum limit of 4 5 pounds for a dog, as a guide post. This 
had the influence of breeding ultra-terrier types until show 
winners fell altogether too far short of this weight, and under- 
sized, small specimens became common. It is here seen that 
in its native land the weight limits of the breed are stretching 
upwards, for as one English writer and exhibitor expresses it, 
"If the Airedale is to be allowed to win on a low weight he 
will be bred down to the Irish, and who knows perhaps become 




Head Study — (10% inches in length) 

merged in him. I should be very sorry to see him get smaller, 
and think the question of weight should have much more 
consideration with judges than it now has" (referring to what 
had been a tendency to advance the small type of Airedale 
in England and America, against the present growing popu- 
larity of the larger type). 

That standard size and weight is today a very elastic 
requirement in England is evident by the following from the 
pen of the editor of "Our Dogs": "The standard descripiton 
and code of points of the Airedale Terrier has been formulated 
merely as a guide to breeders, exhibitors and judges, and not 
as the laws of the Medes and Persians, an irrevocable and un- 
alterable statute. If the latter, then it means that an Airedale 
Terrier 44% lb. weight, however moderate in merit, is eligible 



PHYSIQUE AND STANDARD TYPE 29 

to compete and win prizes and Club emoluments, but one 45 1 / £ 
lb. weight (between which the eye could detect no difference 
and for all practical purposes there is no real difference) is a 
monstrosity and ineligible to compete. Such is, of course 
absurd." 

Nowadays, the tendency seems pendulum-like to be swing- 
ing in the other direction, for the undersized Airedale proved 
an abomination and a most disappointing climax in the breed- 
ing for show dogs that brought it about, and there is reason 
to believe that the Airedale's size everywhere will in the future 
be maintained in representative and winning types in dogs that 
weigh between 45 and 55 pounds and bitches about 5 
pounds less. 

When we bear in mind that show judging is always on the 
comparative basis and not technically scored by standard 
points, one can readily understand the varying opinions pos- 
sible in what constitutes the best ideal for size. Weight in 
itself is too uncertain a factor in determining the desired size 
of an Airedale. Of more importance is height at shoulders, 
stolidity of build, large bone formation in leg structure, giving 
power to good station, strength in neck and shoulders, com- 
pactness of body and a perfect muscular development. 

During 1919, Field and Fancy (New York), America's 
leading Airedale weekly, invited open discussion and letters 
from prominent Airedale owners on the subject of weight in 
Airedales. It brought out many interesting opinions. Space is 
given in this chapter for two excerpts, as pertinent to the 
subject matter, one by the author and the other by Mr. W. E. 
Baker, Jr., of New York, prominent as a breeder and judge of 
the breed, whose writings are sound and substantial. 

Type Not Weight. 

"Editor, Field and Fancy: It is a pleasure for me to take a pen 
in hand on the subject of Airedales, for when twenty years ago I 
began to befriend the breed with an occasional article to your 
paper and others, I little realized that the breed would by now 
have established itself as numerically the largest owned breed in 
this country. Recently I was scanning a copy of a prominent 
Western paper devoted to out-of-door life and recreation, and in 
it a novice had the temerity to ask the Kennel Editor what breed 
of dogs was the 'best' to own. His reply was that there were forty 
fair answers to the question, all of them right, but dog for dog, 
the Airedale had the most brains, and knew how to use them 
better than any other breed in existence. 

"So when your letter came along asking me for my opinion of 
the controversy which your issue of April 26 entitled 'Weight in 
Airedales,' I felt a good deal like the editor above quoted. I see 
nothing in the matter to get excited over, as it is a subject that 
has come up for discussion periodically about once a year in our 
kennel publications for a decade past. Bickering over it avails 
nothing, for the fact is there is no important divergence of opinion 
among those who know a first class Airedale when they see one. 

"Weight is not a suitable word to use in the consideration of the 
subject. This was aptly illustrated some years ago when Dr. 
Henry Jarrett was judging a Seattle show I had the management 
of. There was a cup up for the biggest Airedale to be decided by 
weight. Out West here, then and now, the hunters like the big 



30 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



ones and have an idea that they cannot be bred and raised too 
large, so Bill Bailey wanted to see how big- a specimen could 
be found to win the cup he had donated. Among many the com- 
petition centered on a 11-months-old puppy a boy had brought in 
from a ranch where he had had his freedom (and the puppy was in 
poor flesh). This Airedale weighed 78 pounds. A butcher produced 
the winner in Landrail (bred by Dr. R. M. Dodds of Mankato 
Minn ), and when I weighed this dog he balanced the scales at 82 
pounds, and yet was not in appearance an extra large dog but a 
heavy set, big-boned dog, deep in body and loin and heavy in flesh. 
'Airedales that would not weigh over 55 pounds might seem to 
the eye to be more sizable than this dog, and the 78 pound pup 
looked bigger all over. Another extreme case of weight came 
under my notice two years ago when a 10-months-old male puppy 
came in from the country for shipment to a big game hunter This 



matured at 12 months of age. He was a monstrosity for both 
weight and size, the big all over kind, and on the scales (at 10 
months) weighed 88 pounds. By this time he could easily tip them 
over 100 pounds. He was an absolutely purebred Airedale from 
healthy hunting stock, and his sire and dam were of average size 
but the litter were all big specimens. The inbreeding had evi- 
dently coupled and strengthened the dominant size-tendencies In 
the ancestry and good feeding and country life did the rest of it 
None of these three extra large specimens of the breed maintained 
any attractive balance of Airedale type, but coarseness all over 
was manifest. 

"When, however a large dog does maintain uniform symmetry 
and balance in his structural type, then his owner has something 
worth while and the breed has simply proved its perpetuation of 
what its inherited tendencies must always be. For, bear in mind 
that when the breed was originated Otter Hound blood predom- 
inated in its make-up, and its influence toward size is still the 
strongest element in the breed's reproduction. This is also aided 
by a popular tendency among breeders to always breed to a large 
sized sire. Time cannot erase/ the spots in a leopard's coat, nor 
will it ever change the tendency toward size in Airedale breeding. 

"Please note I use the word 'size' not 'weight,' for weight is no 
criterion to go by. I can put 10 pounds on any Airedale in a 
month if in average flesh, so weight varies too easily to be a 
dependable guide, other than giving a 'mind's idea' of what a 45 
to 50 pound Airedale should perhaps appear to look like. But many 
a good, fat, chunky, undersized specimen can easily tip the scales 
to the requirement of the English standard, which American spe- 
cialty clubs seem to have been too eager to copy — namely 40 to 45 
pounds. 

"Having always favored size in Airedale type, I am glad to here 
state that this is not for/ itself alone. A sporting Airedale does 
not have to be a big one to be a dead game dog in the use for 
the breed in all classes of hunting. I have bred and seen too many 
Airedales that were not large specimens, that were all one could 
ask for in this matter of usefulness. But right here let me counsel 
your Airedale readers to go slow in zealously acclaiming that size 
is the much desired equation in Airedale breeding. There are so 
many more important considerations in Airedale type that experi- 
enced fanciers, give size only a passing consideration. To elucidate 
a bit, I would say, above all, a first-class 'show dog' must have 
superior standard type in head points, symmetry and texture of 
coat, general style and showiness, involving grace in action and 
attractive general ensemble, that denotes 'quality.' The weakest 
general shortcoming in the breed today is texture of coat, an 
otherwise good show dog is exhibited in stripped condition of coat 
— artificial entirely — and wins maybe championship honors and 
eventually is bred to and reproduces poor coats continually. 
Judges should give the gate to all entries of dogs showing a doc- 
tored coat and correct this, for if a poor-coated dog gets by others 
will follow him. 

"Now a large sized Airedale may have these requirements that 
a winner has got to possess. As I am personally more familiar 
with the champion Airedales I have seen and known on the Pacific 



PHYSIQUE AND STANDARD TYPE 



Coast than those in the East, I will mention the following- show- 
champions, every one of which were large sized Airedales, and 
dogs that have been used and produced good stock, among their 
get being champions and winners: King Oorang, Matlock Bob, 
Motor Dace, Bilmer Bingo, Koote-nai Chinook, Thayerdale Tenny. 

"In champion bitches we have had McConnell's Queen, Kil- 
larney Marion, two extra large ones, that would weigh 50 to 55 
pounds almost any time. 

"This is enough to make it clear that a large-sized Airedale is 
not to be denied championship honors as a show dog, if he has the 
requirements that he must have to win not only at one show but 
at the many and under several judges. 

"So again let me say, that size is only one of the many good 
things an Airedale can have. A really high-class show dog that 
has it is lucky, for with size one rarely finds the very elements 
that a show winner must maintain. A large sized Airedale too 
easily tends to undue length of body, a homely coarseness of head 
and a plodding action. A show dog must have the reverse of all 
this — compactness and symmetry of build, a 'balanced type,' all 
parts in proportion to size and contour and that real action a show 
dog needs to set it all off with grace. As in other things there is 




Champion Birch cliff e Oorang (Imported) 

(Courtesy Mr. Norman Mackenzie, Esq.) 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



a tendency for big- thing's to move slowly. There is a mistaken 
idea that is current namely, mating bitches to large dogs to main- 
tain stamina in the brood. This is a fallacy, for the average 
medium-sized sire that has desired 'balanced type' of selected re- 
finement, produces the good large ones just as often, and maybe 
oftener, than the sire whose size is his chief claim for distinction. 
Size is easily grown in any puppy that has a healthy heritage, no 
matter what the size of immediate parentage. It is a case of 
knowing how to feed and raise the puppy properly. 

"There will always be two distinct kinds of Airedales: (1) The 
show animal; (2) the utility Airedale. There may be 1 in a 100 
of the show Airedale, though I am inclined to believe that a really 
high- class show Airedale is even a rarer commodity than this pro- 
portion; of the other 99 per cent, a good two-thirds would rank as 
the 'real dog' for which the breed stands and the remainder are 
the usual 'discard,' better lost than found. R. M. PALMER." 

"Editor, Field and Fancy: As to the particular point or ques- 
tion of size, which you have asked my opinion on, this is to my 
mind a very minor consideration in judging the Airedale in the 
ring, or in the construction of any particular dog as to whether 
he is a good dog or not. 

"In the Standard and Scale of Points, a number of points are 
given, though not particularly and properly specified in the 
standard under the general term of character. To my mind this 
means the disposition of the dog. In the show ring, shown by his 
behavior and expression. In the home, shown by his brains or 
sense, obedience and ability and willingness to mind his own busi- 
ness and yet when the need arises to be game to a finish. An Aire- 
dale should be a quiet, sensible unobtrusive dog, with a one-man- 
disposition, and should not be quarrelsome and pugnacious with 
other dogs, and should at the same time be totally unafraid. A 
dog with a nasty quarrelsome disposition, either in or out of a 
show ring, is distinctly lacking in Airedale character. 

"I have heard fanciers say they did not care if their dogs did not 
have sense enough to come in out of the rain, if they were good 
looking enough to win. Such an Airedale in my opinion is utterly 
worthless, no matter how good looking he might be and he should 
be penalized in the show ring for lack of character in so far as it 
is possible, by the dog's action in the ring to determine his dispo- 
sition. This, then, is to my mind, the first essential in a good dog 
in or out of a show ring. 

"The second consideration in a good dog is that no matter what 
size he may be for that size he should have plenty of good bone 
and substance and hard flesh and muscle. In other words, be able 
to do any amount of work he might be called on to do. In the 
show ring he should have hard, firm flesh and muscle and a 
general air of preparedness. 

"The third consideration is that an Airedale must have a big- 
strong jaw. I do not mean whiskers, and it does not need to be 
long, but it must be a really strong jaw. 

"The fourth consideration is that an Airedale must have a hard 
coat. This is an absolute essential. As far as| I am personally 
concerned an Airedale with a soft coat is doomed, no matter how 
good he may be otherwise. I wish Airedales had to be shown 
absolutely as nature made them. Then the dogs with real coats 
might more easily be distinguished in the show ring. An Airedale 
should have a soft undercoat, and a hard, wiry coat growing 
through this, and only growing about an inch and a half long. A 
real coated Airedale does not carry much whiskers, has no silky 
hairs on his skull; his coat lies close and straight or with a very 
slight ripple, and he looks neat and tidy at any time. If a show 
dog, his coat can be kept in good condition with only an occasional 
plucking once or twice a year. Any other kind of coat is wrong. 
The unfortunate part of the coat question is that the expert ton- 
sorial artist can make a poor coated dog temporarily appear like 
a good coated dog, and 'take in' not only the uninitiated, but 
many of the self-considered cognoscenti. But the man that is 
thoroug-hly acquainted with the real thing in coats need not 
v, oxryx The use of clippers, the coat that has been plucked a 
certain length of time ahead and newly grown in and the look 



PHYSIQUE AND STANDARD TYPE 32 



and feel of it, and particularly any amount of light colored and 
fluffy whiskers give it away. 

"If I have made myself plain, it appears then, that a good Aire- 
dale must have brains, good bones and substance, a strong jaw, 
and a hard coat. If he has these four things, and was as homely 
as sin, he is a good Airedale, and he can be as handsome as Apollo, 
and lack any one of these four essential qualities and be a rotten 
Airedale, and the question of size doesn't enter into the matter at 
all. He can be big, medium or small, and still be a good one or a 
rotten faker. A real Airedale or an honest Airedale if you prefer, 
is one that looks good at any time in its natural state. 
This is the only sort to breed to, and the only sort to try to breed 
that should win. 

"Now, to go a bit more into the question of size. Suppose we 
have a good Airedale — an 'honest' dog with the four essentials. It 
is obvious we must have some limit to size — both ways. Other- 
wise we would have to, to be fair, double our classes in the show 
ring by weight or eventually have two breeds. I am, therefore, in 
favor of the medium sized dog, neither too large nor too small. And 
this works out usually in the end — as oversize carries its own 
penalties of coarseness and lack of terrier quality or character, 
while the undersized dogs usually lack bone and substance and 




Champion "Polam Maxim" (Imported) 

(Courtesy Mr. Norman Mackenzie) 



34 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



jaw power. When extremes meet in the judging- ring and both 
are good, and there is no medium-sized dog in the same class, 
why, you walk up and take your choice. It isn't a question of 
size. It is which is the best dog, and size doesn't enter the matter 
at all as far as I can see. Though I must say frankly, that a good 
big 'un is mighty appealing. 

"The coat question is a far more serious matter than the 
question of size. To see dogs win championships that grow coats 
like a sheep, if given half a chance, and to see dogs turned down 
for 'too much coat,' when the dog that beats them is stripped down 
to nothing, practically, is enough to discourage a saint. To see 
dogs that would have curls all over them if the hair was left alone 
for ten days, and to hear their owners rave about wavy coats is 
enough to make anyone ask, 'What's the use?' (Ifl an Airedale 
fancier wants to know the kind of coat an Airedale ought to have 
let him) look at a Welsh Terrier). Why, we have even had the 
ridiculous spectacle of a soft-coated Airedale winning for the best 
in the show at Westminster. 

"And then, there are the small ear fanciers. Preserve us from 
a Fox Terrier ear on an Airedale. It is wrong. The Airedale ear 
should be carried distinctly to the side and should be quite large 
in proportion to the size of the dog, but not hounds, even in 
suggestion. 

"And then, there are the 'narrow head' fanciers, that skin and 
sweat their poor dog's head down to nothing. For the love of 
Mike, don't let us ruin the Airedale. Leave some room for brains. 
Airedales, today haven't half the intelligence or sense that they 
had in the good old days of Twig and Rosebud. I know it. Let's 
be reasonable about heads, and let's look for a little more expres- 
sion and less 'narrowness.' 

"And next we have the 'color 1 faddist,' with his deep red tan 
and black back. By all means let's have a nice bright tan and a 
black well diversified saddle — but not if it carries with it, as it 
often does, a soft coat. What harm is a little red up the back? 
They all have it sooner or later. 

"And I might keep on and mention fronts and teeth, etc., etc., 
for why stop at size? W. E. BAKER, JR." 

Importance of Quality. 

What is known as "quality," a more or less indescribable 
characteristic, should be a prominent factor in a typical Aire- 
dale. This "quality" seems to be that something in the en- 
semble of the make-up of a dog that pleases and attracts at 
first glance. The handsome show-setter shows it at once, and 
so must the terrier. The factor of "quality" in an Airedale is 
an embodiment of all that one wishes to find in a classy 
terrier, vivation, showiness, and the like, all set off by as 
perfect a type as one can get. 

Most of the Airedale Specialty Clubs in America have 
copied the standard requirements for the breed as adopted by 
The Kennel Club of England. A very comprehensive and suit- 
able standard description of what the ideal Airedale Terrier 
should be is found in Count Henry De Bylandt's "Dogs of All 
Nations" (London, 1905). 



PHYSIQUE AND STANDARD TYPE 35 



Standard Description. 

General Appearance — Squarely built, same length as height. He 

is the largest variety of the Terrier. 
Head — Long. 

Skull — Flat, not too broad between the ears and narrowing 

slightly to the eyes, free from wrinkles. 
Stop — Hardly visible. 

Byes — Small, dark in color, not prominent but full of Terrier 
expression. 

Nose — Black, nostrils open. 

Cheeks — Free from fullness. 

Lips — Tight. 

Jaws — Deep and powerful, well filled up before the eyes. 

Teeth — Strong and level. 

Ears — V shaped, with a side carriage, but not out of proportion 
to the size of the dog. 

Neck — Of moderate length and thickness, gradually widening 
towards the shoulders and free from throatiness. 

Shoulders — Long and sloping well into the the back; shoulder 
blades flat. 

Chest — Deep but not broad. 

Back — Short, strong and straight. 

Ribs — Well sprung. 

Hind-quarters — Strong and muscular with no droop. 

Legs — Perfectly straight, with plenty of bone; hocks well let 
down. 

Feet — Small and round, with good depth of pad. 

Tail — Set on high and carried gaily, and not curled over the 
back; always docked to about 7 (or 10) inches. 

Coat — Hard and wiry, but not so long as to appear ragged. It 
should also lie straight and close, covering the dog well all 
over the body and legs. 

Color — .The head and ears (with the exception of dark mark- 
ings on each side of skull) should be tan, the ears being of 
a darker shade than the rest, the legs up to the thighs and 
elbows being also tan; the body black or dark grizzle. 

Height at Shoulders — From 20 to 24 inches. 

Weight — Dogs from 40 to 50 lbs., bitches slightly less. The size 
is a very important point, as light dogs are condemnable. 

(Disqualifying Points — White marks or patches on the body 
and an uneven mouth, either overshot or undershot). 

Many, of the leading show winners of the day have a slight 
white marking on the chest, not enough to be a patch or prom- 
inent as such. This slight tendency of white appearing in a small 
spot on chest seems to be nothing unusual in real good specimens 
and is not regarded as of sufficient importance to disqualify, under 
the accepted merits of the type desired in the breed today. 

Scale of Points. 

Head, ears, eyes, mouth 20 

Neck, shoulders and chest 10 30 

Body 10 

Hind-quarteds and stern 5 

Legs and feet 15 30 

Coat 15 

Color 10 

General character and expression 15 

Total 100 



36 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



Mr. Henry Hanna, an authority in England on Airedale 
breeding, in reviewing prominent individual Airedales which 
were shown in 1914, is quoted in the English Kennel Gazette, 
viz.: 

"As to the breed generally, I am glad to say that there is 
a marked improvement in coat, color and body. The light 
biscuit tan that ran through some good Airedales for the past 
few years was traceable to certain blood, but while it was 
often accompanied by high quality it was wrong and con- 
trary to the distinct standard set ud by every club. I am also 
of the opinion that we have seen this year fewer flat-ribbed 
and light-bodied specimens even among the lower ranks. The 
great factors to be aimed at in breeding typical Airedales are 
body, coat, loins and bone, but many of the modern exhibitors 
never look past the dog's head and ears. There is not the 
same craze for the long foreface that often seems dispropor- 
tionate to the skull and even to the dog himself. I hope that 
the days of the flat-catcher are coming to an end with his 
Irish Terrier ears and abnormally long 'donkey' head. By all 
means let us have a handsome typical head, but let us look at 
the back of it for the real substance of such a Terrier as the 
Airedale, who must combine substance, strength and agility 
with a weather-resisting double coat of sound color, and made 
of hair, not wool." 




Champion Crofton Chum 

(Courtesy Mr. John M. Williams) 



CHAPTER III. 



THE KENNEL, HOW TO ARRANGE IT. 

The Chain. 

If you are to keep but one dog for family companionship 
and guard, no kennel is needed, for it's inhuman to chain an 
Airedale up alone to a sleeping box. Should the situation re- 
quire it in the limited room of a city backyard and occasional 
epidemics of the carnal fiend dog poisoner, the most satisfac- 
tory plan to adopt is to string a heavy wire ten or twenty feet 
in length, with a solid metal ring sliding its length, to which 
is attached the swivel chain. This affords ample exercise for 
any dog and has saved many a dog's accidental poisoning. 
Chaining a dog up regularly tends to spoil his otherwise good 
disposition and his jumping continually at the limit of chain 
throws his shoulders and elbows out, giving him an unsightly 
appearance and front. 

Never chain a dog to a fence or box near a fence, as many 
a dog has lost his life by jumping, when chained, over a fence. 

The Poison Question. 

Dog poison is not to be generally feared except where 
poison is purposely set for predatory animals and in cities for 
rats. To be always prepared for an accidental case of poison, 
it is well to have at hand some sulphate of zinc and a bottle of 
wine of ipecac. Give a grown dog twenty grains of the zinc in 
a teaspoonful of water. In a few minutes give a teaspoonful 
of wine of ipecac. This will produce vomiting. If the owner 
sees to it that your dog or dogs are not a menace in any 
manner to your neighbors, danger from poison is eliminated. 
Generally speaking, too much liberty is given a dog and more 
than is conducive to his best welfare. It is a mistake to allow 
a well bred dog to roam the streets of the town with all sorts, 
or to have the liberty of using a neighbor's lawn and garden 
as their self-selected playground. Stale waste barrels are 
frequently the cause of poison, which is put out to exterminate 
rats. In cases of poison from picking up "rough on rats," 
symptoms of which are foaming at the mouth and intense mus- 
cular contractions, the immediate use of heated lard poured 
into the stomach, either half or a cupful, according to size 
and age, will save the dog's life. Keep your dog at home and 
only at liberty when one of the family is with him and you 
need never fear the poisoned bait. 



38 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 





Plan of Kennel 



THE KENNEL, HOW TO ARRANGE IT 39 



Kenneling. 

If you are to have more than one dog, a pair we will say, 
and more, provide a warm house, affording shade in the hot 
weather and ample protection from winter weather, free from 
draughts, with a fairly roomy runway yard. The kennel should 
be placed in such a position as to be least disturbed by passers- 
by, and never on the fence line. 

The sketch for plan of kennel shown herein is simple and 
one that is adapted for two or a dozen dogs, of varying ages. 
Do not expect to keep Airedales inside of an exercise yard or 
runway which is fenced with poultry-wire netting or board 
fencing. They are most certain to learn even while young to 
go through most any wire netting, and if the mesh is too heavy 
for their teeth to tear, they soon learn to climb it, like 
going up a ladder. The writer has seen Airedales go over 
fences ten feet in height. They are naturally great jumpers, 
and when mature can get over most anything, except just one 
kind of a fence, and that is a picket fence, built with the 
joist on the outside of the yard and the pickets inside. The 
upper joints should be set two feet down from top of pickets, 
which gives no foot-hold for a dog wishing to jump over the 
pointed pickets. After one unsuccessful attempt there will be 
no more jumping. Base of all yard fences must have boards 
eighteen inches deep in ground to stop disposition to dig holes 
under and out. In kennel plan given, note that a goodly por- 
tion of the area inside the house is an earth floor, which 
affords cool shade in summer and dry ground in winter. The 
kennel should preferably be located on high ground or a slope, 
with plenty of windows for light and ventilation. The sleeping 
bench or floor is better limited in area, as it is naturally kept 
cleaner if so. Airedales need no bedding of any sort except in 
particularly cold weather. Cedar shavings or sawdust is excel- 
lent for bedding, except in wet climates, when unless changed 
often it becomes damp. Ashes are too hard on the coats. There 
is nothing better than straw, but it must be renewed regularly, 
as if left it crumbles up to a fine litter which is a most fertile 
breeding nest for insects, particularly fleas. If you keep the 
kennel sleeping floors sprayed and free from dust your dogs 
will not be bothered with fleas in the kennel. In summer wet 
the ground down often, and the result is the same. Fleas thrive 
in fine litter and dust. If your growing puppies are sleeping 
in boxes with straw bedding, powder the bottom of the boxes 
with insect powder, or powdered sulphur, and you will find 
them free from the annoyance of continually scratching for 
fleas, which develops skin trouble. 

A most suitable and convenient arrangement for a kennel 
enclosure is to build a bench along the outside wall of some 
outbuilding, two feet off ground, over which build a sloping 



40 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



roof with overhang. This affords dry resting quarters in bad 
weather and dry and cool ground under bench in good weather. 

Airedales do not need large runways, but thrive in limited 
exercising yards, and grown dogs should be kenneled in pairs, 
rarely more together. Study the dispositions of your dogs and 
kennel them accordingly. It sometimes happens that puppies 
will fight over food badly even when kenneled in pairs. When 
such is the case, the best corrective plan is to place the 
aggressor in with a friendly older dog or bitch, when the pup's 
ardor is silenced by the difference in age and ability. Airedales 
have to be watched carefully at meal times, for it is oftentimes 
easier to avoid a scrap than to stop it after it is well under way. 
Chain up at feeding time any older dog that is too greedy and 
bosses others away from food pan. Puppies particularly are 
liable to injure each other badly by fighting, and it should 
never be encouraged. 

Kennel stalls and yards should be cleaned daily and no 
manure allowed to remain, as it is a breeder of disease in 
attracting flies. Much of a dog's daily life is spent lying about 
on the ground and his quarters should be kept clean, or his 
coat soon becomes foul with disease germs of gestated vermin 
and insect life. Paint sleeping floor with crude petroleum and 
spray occasionally with creolin or Zenoleum solution. 

Dog Collars, the Best Kind. 

The collar is an important item, as those who depend on 
the average assortment of ornamental collars for sale by 
tradesmen generally get a poorly adapted collar for 1 a dog as 
powerful and strong as the Airedale. Ornamental collars serve 
their purpose in pleasing the eye, like fancy dress, but if more 
common sense were used in the matter of dog collars there 
would be fewer annoyances of lost dogs from the show benches, 
due to broken and bent rings and poor fastenings. The best 
collar for an Airedale is the rolled leather collar, one in which 
the fastening end of the strap passes through hooking ring to 
reach buckle. If this is not obtainable, the next best and the 
one sensible and durable collar to provide is this one — a home- 
made production. Purchase from any notion supply store a 
strong book strap, which gives you two straps plus a handle (at 
cost of a few cents for small size). Discard the handle and cut 
straps to proper length, making necessary holes for buckling 
with a punch or nail. Get a nickel's worth of three-quarter 
inch iron rings at a hardware store. Slip one on each strap, 
and the best collar in the world for practical service has been 
made at a minimum cost. This collar holds, and the ring does 
not pull out or collar get cut by ornaments. The best collar 
for breaking in a puppy is made by taking a leather strap 
about one yard long, pass it under chest behind elbows, put 
both ends through an iron ring, cross the ends and pass them 



THE KENNEL, HOW TO ARRANGE IT 



41 



over shoulders and down under neck where the strap is 
buckled to suitable* length. This collar has the advantage of 
not pulling directly on neck and choking. Padlocks on collars 
are sources of great annoyance. Keys to them get lost, and 
they do not protect against} the knife blade of the dog thief. 
The only other collar which it is well to have is the spike 
collar. The purpose of this collar, and its singular usefulness, 
lies in its hypnotic effect in breaking up a dog's fighting 
tendencies, if a dog happens to be prone to it. It is only 
seldom that an Airedale is prone to street fighting and when 
the disposition is so developed it is due to some fault of the 
owner. An Airedale naturally prefers not to pick a quarrel, 
yet if attacked he always will give a good account of himself. 
When a dog is on the street a good deal and exposed to the 
attacks of all kinds, including the vicious, the use of the spike 
collar on your own dog is desired. Its appearance has the 
effect of keeping the most viciously inclined to prefer peace 
for the time, and even when placed on a fighting dog has a 
similar effect. It seems to dispel all preliminary arguments. 




Author and Some Kennel Favorites — Champion Matlock Bob 
(left) and Champion Lake-Dell Damsel (right) 



THE TYPE THAT PRODUCES WINNERS 

Ilustrating type of sire and brood matron desired in successful 

breeding, notably in heiad, foreface, muzzle, placement 

of ears, legs, bones, and feet. 




Champion Matlock Rob (Imported) 




CHAPTER IV. 



FEEDING. 



Diet. 

Airedales being constitutionally so hardy a breed thrive on 
most any diet when once successfully raised. If fortunate 
enough to enjoy the life of a family home, the varied diet of 

table scraps, with its 
assortments of bones, 
vegetables, meat and 
cereal products make a 
healthy menu, and the 
only caution necessary 
is against over-feeding. 
Grown dogs should be 
fed moderately morn- 
ing and night in winter 
months, and but once 
a day, at night, in 
warm weather. The 
family guard that gets 
ample exercise daily 
will keep himself in 
good condition, espe- 
cially if a bucket of 
Champion Lake-Dell Damsel C old water is acces- 

( American-bred) si bi e . Avoid fish, chop 

and chicken bones. The angle of fish and chop bones, if 
poorly masticated, are sharp enough to obstruct stomach and 
intestine, and turkey bones, being hollow and brittle, rarely 
get chewed fine enough to digest well and will cause serious 
trouble. Feed some milk now and then, also well-cooked liver. 
A dog that eats immoderately, even ravenously, and bloats after 
eating, needs attention with vermifuge (see Chapter VIII). It 
is always better for a dog to be a bit under-fed than over-fed. 
The daily diet should have considerable variety in its selection. 
For the household companion the use of dog cakes will be 
found most convenient as they are wholesome and a meal of 
dog cakes for growing puppies daily or occasionally will be 
found beneficial. An economical and desirable method of their 
use is to soak them with water and when well broken mix with 
bran. Dog cakes or biscuits are carefully prepared, keep indef- 
initely, nourishing and easily assimilated. Their ground form 




44 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



and puppy meal are excellent for puppies. Those advertised in 
this book will be found reliable and satisfactory in every way. 
The writer has made a careful study of kennel feeding for 
twenty years, and exprimented with all sorts of food. The 
result of these observations will likely prove of value to many, 
whether new fanciers or old hands, for it is never too late to 
learn something in these twentieth century eye-opening days. 

If one is to keep more than one or two dogs, the task of 
providing for daily food is a serious consideration and has to 
be systematically planned, for the monthly feed bills of a 
kennel of a dozen or more dogs become a steady liability that 
demands strict economy. In kennels wherein the number fed 
runs up to fifty and even one hundred heads to feed, this 
subject becomes of still greater importance. A considerate 
owner of valuable Airedales wishes them fed sufficiently and 
yet not wastefully. 

Many kennels have access to restaurant scraps, stale waste 
bread and the trimmings from meat markets and boil this up 
with various cereal mixtures. If dogs are exercised well, and 
they are not over-fed with it, this diet suffices, though it is 
dangerous. Its danger lies in there frequently being not only 
"the substance of things hoped for, but the evidence of things 
unseen," and occasional ptomaine poisoning may be expected 
from it. Copious use of bran is needed to mix it into a suitable 
kennel food. 

Such a diet tends to overheating the blood, and with dogs 
confined to kennel life is liable to< bring on skin trouble which 
is easier to avoid than to cure. Airedales are active dogs and 
incline to eat too lustily of rich rations. The dog that has 
liberty at all times in town life will generally keep himself in 
good condition, due to the natural aperients and waste prod- 
ucts he consumes at nature's bidding. No matter what the 
diet, a dog must consume a certain amount of waste product 
to be healthy and well. When a dog nibbles grass, or devours 
stable manure, it is to offset too rich a filling-up from 1 some 
excellent meal he has had access to, in which protein elements 
have dominated too heartily. To cure it, give a lighter diet, 
less meat and more of the waste or nitrogenous rations. A 
word as to potatoes here: They are a starvation diet for a 
dog, and do not seem to digest or assimilate in their boiled 
form. As they are mostly water, a dog does not need them in 
a diet. 

Milk and Its Uses. 

Milk alone is not a sufficient food for growing puppies or 
grown dogs. As it contains 87 per cent water, a large quantity 
must constitute the diet in order to give the dog the necessary 
supply of nutriment. Used to flavor a pan of regular food it is 
excellent as an addition, but fed too liberally alone, its use 



FEEDING 45 



tends to bloated, stomachs which cause the conditions in which 
worms thrive and become so deleterious by their inroads upon 
the assimilative system of the animal. 

Buttermilk is a most healthful and sustaining food reliance. 
If the fresh article is not obtainable, use the evaporated product 
securable from any poultry supply house. It is sold by various 
trade names, given by its preparers, and is a boon to the 
owners of dogs as a most valuable adjunct and dependence for 
food supply. The writer has used evaporated buttermilk since 
its first appearance in commercial form and finds it a most 
satisfactory kennel food and dependence. The cereal mash 
recommended in this chapter is mixed right into this diluted 
buttermilk (instead of water only) and dogs are kept in prime 
condition from its use. The lactic acid therefrom seems to 
eliminate largely the growth of intestinal parasites, such that 
little dosing for worms is needed.- The product advertised in 
this book will be found reliable. 

Sour milk in the thickened clabber state is also excellent 
and one meal a day of this to puppies by itself will be found 
beneficial. If it scours the system too much, omit for a day or 
so and then continue. 

Suitable Kennel Foods. 

We will now consider the diet suitable for kennel feed and 
that for those who keep Airedales in numbers away from city 
and town life, such as in the country on farms or ranches or in 
mountain hunting. Economy of unnecessary expenditure of 
money is the chief factor, for the hunter who takes a pack of 
ten or a dozen dogs into the mountains must oftimes pack all 
of his dog feed with him. 

The writer has now tested for a long time and had others 
use and test as a regular kennel food and field diet for dogs 
past six months old the following. It is something new to 
many dog owners and is certainly the acme of perfection for a 
diet; is satisfying, sustaining and a maintainer of healthy 
physique at all times. Until the writer by original experiment- 
ing with this kennel diet proved its efficacy it had been con- 
sidered necessary to depend on prepared and cooked foods for 
dogs. The success of uncooked cereal products as dog feed is 
now established and the idea has been first formulated in 
this book and is original with the writer. 

Take a measure each of rolled or finely ground oats, bran, 
and soy bean meal, a half measure of powdered bone meal (and 
occasionally powdered charcoal), mix together dry; add salt 
and hot or cold water enough to thoroughly soak up the mix- 
ture, but not enough to float it. Give grown dogs a quart 
measure or more (whatever quantity is eaten up clean) and to 
each pan as fed add a little canned milk (diluted), one can 
being sufficient to use in feeding six dogs. Rolled oats with 



46 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



bran; and a small proportion of fish meal is also an entirely 
suitable food which dogs like when once accustomed to it. The 
condition of bowels should be regulated by the relative propor- 
tion of bran used. 

This food is fed entirely uncooked and dogs thrive on it. If 
boiled fats and bones, or milk, be added to the mixture, it 
helps in giving a change, but for dogs that must live on a 
simple, plain diet each day, this mixture keeps the system in 
good condition, supporting the hardiest kind of work and yet 
it is not over-heating in kennel life. 

It is a good plan to feed the mixture dry, if the wet mixture 
is devoured too fast. Eating it dry requires more mastication 
and mixing with mouth saliva. 

The rolled oats are such as are used for family table. Oats 
as an animal food is one of the most nourishing of all cereals 
raised, as seen in the work a horse will do with it as the chief 
food. 

Soy bean meal is the concentrated form of the imported 
Manchurian soy bean, from which it is made. It resembles a 
coarse oil meal, but while oil meals average about 2 5 per cent 
protein nutriment, this soy bean meal runs up to about 36 
per cent. 

The United States Farmers' Bulletins state that "excepting 
the peanut, there is no other raw vegetable product known 
which contains such a high percentage of protein and fat in 
such a highly digestible form as the soy bean." ''The seed can 
be fed to best advantage when ground into meal and is almost 
without equal as a concentrated feed." Also, "a bushel of soy 
beans is at least twice as valuable for feed as a bushel of 
corn." 

All foodstuffs contain a certain percentage of water. "Ash 
is what is left when the combustible part of the feeding stuff 
is burned away. It consists chiefly of lime, magnesia potash, 
etc., and is used largely in making bones. From the ash con- 
stituents of the food the digestive organs of the animal select 
those which the 'animal needs and the rest is voided in the 
manure." "The fat of food is either stored up in the body as 
fat or burned to furnish heat and energy." "Carbohydrates 
form the largest part of all vegetable foods, being stored up 
as fat in the animal or burned in the system to produce heat 
and energy. They are one of the principal sources of animal 
fat." "Protein is the name of a group of materials containing 
nitrogen. Protein materials are often designated as flesh form- 
ers, because they furnish the materials for the lean flesh, but 
they also enter largely into the composition of blood, skin, 
muscles, tendons, nerves, hair, etc. For the formation of these 
materials protein is absolutely indispensable." "The sources 
of heat and energy in the animal, then, are the protein, fat, and 
carbohydrates of the food, and the fat and protein of the body, 
for the fat and protein of the body may be burned like that in 



FEEDING 47 



the food. The value of the fat for producing heat is nearly 
two and a half times that of carbohydrates or protein. The 
sources of fat in the body are the fat, carbohydrates, and prob- 
ably the protein of the food, and the exclusive source of protein 
in the body is the protein in the food." 

The following comparative analysis of the consistency of 
foods named gives an intelligent idea of the dependence to be 
placed upon each, alone or in combination: 

Corn Soy Round of 

Oats Meal Bean Bran Milk Beef 

Water 11. 15. 8.7 11.9 87.2 60.7 

Ash 3. 1.4 5.4 5.8 .7 

Proteins .... 11.8 9.2 36.3 18.4 3.6 10. 

Fibre 9.5 1.9 3.9 9.0 

Carbohydrates 59.7 68.7 27.7 53.9 4.9 .... 

Fats 5. 3.8 18. 4. 3.7 12.8 

In localities where soy-bean meal is not securable, the use 
of the commercial poultry egg-mash, as sold by poultry supply 
houses can be used and will be found a wholesome and nutri- 
tious diet, as these mashes are generally well balanced mixtures 
of good ,ground cereal meals, in suitable proportions. 

Large hard bones are injurious, if left for a dog to chew 
on, as he soon wears his teeth down on them. Mutton bones 
are excellent, and the softer beef bones, but not the ribs. 
Cracklins are not a wholesome diet, as they contain little nutri- 
ment of real value and tend to impoverish the blood and bring 
on skin trouble. 

Cured beef scraps, fish meal or blood meal (such as used 
for poultry) are better. These should, however, always be 
looked over carefully, to take out all grit, and well scalded with 
boiling water. 

No Cooking Needed. 

It is readily seen that this diet for the kennel eliminates 
the necessity of the daily cooking of food, always more or less 
of an annoyance, winter or summer. Dogs do not need cooked 
food, when one stops to consider that in their former wild 
wolf-like life they never had it. "We have been too ready to 
accustom them to the human habit of having cooked rations, 
and it is now proved beyond argument that the uncooked diet 
herein described is a healthy diet for a dog in kennel life or 
when engaged in the most taxing of daily physical work after 
the age of three months. 

Importance of Bone Meal. 

The writer wishes to lay particular stress on the importance 
of the use of bone meal (finely ground) in a dogs' diet. Dogs 
crave it and this strong natural instinct should be indulged, 
particularly with the rearing of puppies. Its use supplies the 



48 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



system with needed nutrition, and a dog's digestive fluids seem 
to be particularly suited to its assimilation. Furthermore, the 
writer has observed that with bones or bone meal as a part of 
the diet, a dog's intestinal tract is free from the mucous coat- 
ing, in which intestinal parasites gestate, grow and thrive. 
Plenty of bones to chew on keeps the teeth free from tartar 
and promotes a sound and healthy condition of the teeth. 

How to Feed. 

Always separate dogs at feeding times, especially Airedales, 
as even "pals" will get unruly over a toothsome panful. The 
safest plan, if your stall room will not permit of separating 
them singly, is to chain up at feeding time those disposed to 
make trouble and take away all leavings, especially bones. 

Approximate Cost. 

The cost of kennel feed is in this manner reduced to a 
minimum, fuel, no small item, entirely eliminated, also the 
daily necessity of the meat market, with its present high prices 
of meat. From fifty cents to one dollar per month per head 
is the average cost of feeding a kennel of Airedales in any 
number on this diet, and the best part of it is their excellent 
physical condition, hard in muscle, right in flesh, always feeling 
active and alert, and no sick or ailing dogs. 

What these dog owners, among the hundreds that are 
using the diet recommended herein, say for it is 1 noteworthy. 

"Dear Sir: Since reading your book, I have fed and raised 
all my Airedales on rolled oats, soy bean meal and bran, some- 
times fed raw and sometimes boiled, with a little meat or fish. 
I feed three times a day. The pups do fine on it, and the way 
they fight over it, they must like it. 

"Dungeness, Wash., January, 1913. AL. WYLDE." 

« 

"Dear Sir: I have been using the dog food you so kindly 
advised me about for the past nine months and I find it the 
most desirable dog food I have ever used in my kennels in the 
past ten years, since I have been breeding setters. My four 
dogs are in the best possible condition, both in coat and gen- 
eral health, and I want to say right now if coat and condition 
could win prizes, I would take from first novice to best in the 
show. The credit I give to your 'method' of feeding. 

"Seattle, January 11, 1913. D. W. ALVERSON." 



FEEDING 



49 





Retrieving Ducks with au Airedale 



Culbertson Interloper at work; the property of Mr. H. V. Shaw, 
Edmonton, Canada. Mr. Shaw is the pioneer breeder of Airedales 
in the Canadian Northwest and an ardent sportsman in hunting 
game with his Airedales. 



50 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




Champion Master Briar 

One of the most influential sires in the improvement of the breed 

in England and America, whose blood is a prominent factor in 

many of the piesent-day champions and winners. 




CHAPTER V. 



BREEDING. 



History Shows Its Steady Progress. 

Since the days of Pompeii, when 
dogs were then, as now, ofttimes 
family idols, such that their like- 
nesses are today seen in the costly 
mosaic wall decorations, as re- 
vealed in the archives of the 
homes of inhabitants of that 
1 " period which the recovery of the 
buried treasures of the long hid- 
Champion Red Raven's den city has unearthed, the fancy 
Head for the caring and the breeding of 

such dogs as different nations 
have found occasion to cherish has been a steadily advancing 
interest for the human race, varying in degree of intelligent 
development in accordance with the enlightenment of the 
nation. Each nation has its favorite breed, peculiarly adapted 
for its usage or fancy. This indisputable human tendency in 
every corner of the globe to find something in the companion- 
ship of dog-life, of more than common interest, is noteworthy 
as being responsible for the breeding of the many distinct 
varieties of the present day up to their varying stages of 
perfection. 

Kings and queens, lords and princes, merchants and mill- 
hands, indians and esquimaux, and all other elements of the 
great body of citizenship that make up the nations of the 
world have for centuries been vieing with each other in the 
zest of rivalry for intelligent improvement in the breeding of 
their favorite breeds. The human race everywhere is prone to 
pleasurable recreation and sport. Fondness for the companion- 
ship of dogs was followed by their being made useful in vari- 
ous pursuits, from the early days when "the dogs of war" 
were chronicled in Roman annals, to the development of their 
game-hunting instincts in all countries, or their use in the 
sled teams of the North, and it is to the sled-dogs of the north- 
ern countries that the world owes an everlasting debt as hav- 
ing made travel possible and wealth untold in extent within 
human reach. 

The underlying reason for this universal interest in the 
advancement of the breeding of dogs is plain. Humanity 



52 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



craves varying forms of recreation, and in so many of these 
the companionship or usefulness of a dog is so much in demand 
and necessary. The dynasties of the Orient have devoted much 
pleasurable recreation to perfecting breeds that appeal to the 
limitations of the rarest pets for companionship, and this for 
centuries. The continental European nations have likewise 
perfected a large number of breeds, for both companionship 
and sport. The English-speaking people of the world have 
shown their zeal in breeding to a higher stage of perfection a 
larger number of breeds than any other nationalities. 

Wherever one goes, the world over, you find the wealthy 
classes taking pleasure in supporting and maintaining large 
kennels and the middle classes breeding within their limita- 
tions, and singularly enough the greatest strides in perfecting 
the standards of the breeds is attributable to the fanciers 
among the middle classes, whose ambitions seem ever keen to 
produce something better all the time. 

Recreation and a Hobby. 

Who is more to be pitied in his unhappy state than the 
man without a hobby? Many find their hobby in fancy stock 
raising, cattle, horses, etc., for racing or exhibition. Our 
communities are annually supporting in their patronage of 
fairs and exhibitions the progress made in competitive breed- 
ing, for all sorts of livestock. Poultry breeding likewise has 
become a science. The discerning breeding of one's favorite 
breed in dogs has become also a recreative pleasure and 
pastime that appeals to one and all alike whether indulged in 
on an extensive scale on a country estate or within the con- 
fines of city life. Therefore what hobby deserves higher popu- 
larity than the unselfish pastime of improving a standard 
breed of dogs, especially when made profitable in the successful 
achievement of its aims or ambitions? 

The history of the advancement in the betterment of dog 
breeding shows that it has included among its devotees the 
acknowledged leading lights of the world, in royalty, letters, 
arts, professions of science and pedagogy, and scions of the 
business world. 

In that classic tale "Stickeen, The Story of a Dog," by 
John Muir, America's most famous naturalist, is seen what 
can be found in a dog's character by keen human observation 
and the closing lines of the author, "To me Stickeen is im- 
mortal," reveals an estimate of what under emergencies de- 
veloped in his close association with a worthy dog. 

Prof. George Herbert Palmer, formerly Professor of Phil- 
osophy at Harvard University, wrote the following ethical com- 
parison and estimate of a dog's worth to mankind: 

"A good dog has a nobleness which calls out respect and 
honor as well as liking. In us all, there are two opposing 



BREEDING 53 



tendencies, one of which the cat embodies, the other the dog. 
On the one hand we each study our own comfort, convenience 
and advancement, using those about us as means to these ends 
of our own. While on the other hand we often give ourselves 
up to some worthy cause or person and find all our powers 
brought out best through loyal devotion to it or him. This 
is the way with the cat and dog. The cat is so frank in the 
use of everybody and things about her for her own use that 
she becomes positively interesting, and her dependence fascin- 
ates. But the dog is just a skinful of devotion and when he 
has once given himself to his master, hardship, neglect, or 
even harsh words will not stop his utter loss of himself in his 
master's interest. I always feel myself humiliated in the 
presence of a noble dog." 

A Definite Purpose. 

Airedales are destined to always interest those who wish 
to become familiar with a breed perfected as it already is to a 
higher state of versatility than any other known breed. 

In breeding Airedales one must continually have a 
defined purpose in considering and deciding on each mating. 
If the breeder finds that the purchaser of his surplus stock 
desires show type, he should spare no expense in getting a 
constantly improved type in this respect. If the demands on 
the kennel are for general utility and working or hunting 
stock, the matings should be planned with this end chiefly 
in view. 

Mr. J. .A. Graham, in "Sporting Dogs," writes: "There is 
an inexorable law — which tends unceasingly to a reproduction 
of the average quality of a breed. It constantly pulls upward 
to the average and constantly pulls down. Perpetuating aver- 
ages is not only threatening but it is ever present and eternal. 
It is the law which the breeder must recognize and reckon 
with. His wonderful winners will come along occasionally, 
but he must understand that whatever his breeding stock, he 
does very well if he gets results up to a good standard." 

There is much variance in the temperaments found in 
Airedales, similarly as in Pointers and Setters. In some Aire- 
dales the terrier characteristics predominate, in others they 
are less in evidence and the quieter disposition is prominent, 
with the desire to hunt strongly manifested. Show dogs are 
not bred from the more houndy types. If one wants to breed 
show winners, it is first necessary for the breeder to be a 
constant and accurate student of the winning type, and then 
breed for it by acquiring such individuals as appoach the 
ideal. The breeder is losing too much valuable time in trying 
to breed up mediocre stock to an approach to show type, by 
eradicating faults that may predominate in his stock. It is 
more profitable to immediately have available for use some 



54 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



distinctly good show type, by purchase from a breeder who has 
been successful in winning with his dogs at leading shows 
where strong competition is met with. Some of the most noted 
show champions in Airedales have been grand hunting dogs as 
well, and proved their gameness wherever tried. Other noted 
individuals have likely never had the chance to show their 
qualifications in hunting but would likely have proved them- 
selves had they been given the chance, for their offspring, as it 
is bred on, invariably shows the characteristics of the breed. 

One can't lay down any iron-clad rule for successful breed- 
ing, for it must necessarily be a matter of experience in ob- 
serving results. Certain sires are particularly successful in 
reproducing their own splendid characteristics, while the pro- 
duce of others gains more of the individuality of the dam. In 
the West the preponderance in the demand for Airedales is 
from those who, while they are capable of appreciating real 
good type in contrast to ordinary specimens, demand in an 
Airedale primarily a dog whose breeding endows him with the 
fundamental useful characteristics. The leading eastern and 
western breeders are all the time acquiring by purchase im- 
ported individuals of prominent reputation to enhance the 
value and comparative merits in the standard type of their 
stock, whereas the individual who is to use the Airedale for 
his practical utility may look more to hunting ambition, keen 
scenting powers, a robust physique, large size yet built for 
speed in the chase, an easy mover, alertness at all times, good 
bone, a dense enduring coat and withal a dog of intense grit 
and the brains that an Airedale always carries with it. Such 
an Airedale when sent to one attracted to the breed by what 
he may have read about its sterling worth, and one who has 
perhaps owned other disappointing breeds, "makes good," 
and one can readily account for the tremendous demand for 
this class of Airedale the world over by the fact that the 
Airedale continually and consistently "makes good" wherever 
given a chance to show his wonderful versatility in adapting 
himself to any situation. 

Breeding should thus always have its object and by selec- 
tion be made dependable. If you want hunting dogs, you will 
be more likely to get the best results from breeding to the 
tried and proved hunting Airedale, than chancing a litter from 
a dog of great reputation as a sire of winners. But for the 
steady improvement and bettering of type in which all Aire- 
dale fanciers are so keenly interested, we can't get too much of 
the breeding from dogs who have made great reputations in 
all parts of the world, for such superiority of individualism 
and type is the only source for the breed's constant better- 
ment and advancement. "Every dog has his day" is only too 
true, and breeders must be quick to grasp opportunities to get 
the breeding of famous dogs as they are made available, and 



BREEDING 55 



thus acquire for their own future use improvements in type 
and keep on doing likewise, as other future opportunities de- 
velop. Bear always in mind that the results of your matings 
will tend to perpetuate all strong dominant characteristics of 
the immediate parentage and for the next preceding two or 
three generations of ancestors and where dominant features of 
type or character are found in both sire and dam, these will 
be accentuated in the progeny. 

The Sire. 

A stud dog is generally fertile as a sire at ten or eleven 
months of age. If a dog commends himself sufficiently to 
use him in breeding, his life should be planned with this in 
view. If good enough to send to shows, he should be kept 
before the public eye. If a keen hunter, he should be hunted 
as much as possible and worked on any sort of field work, to 
develop his education in this line. Close confinement is in- 
jurious to a stud dog, as his temper becomes irritable, and he 
perhaps soon develops a bad habit of amusing himself daily 
by running up and down his kennel yard run, and barking at 
any possible object of interest. Freedom and companionship 
is of more vital importance for a good sire than for the brood 
matron, though her temperament is likewise best developed 
by association and companionship. 

Line Breeding and Inbreeding. 

Line breeding has been the underlying strength in per- 
petuating Airedale characteristics. Follow back most any 
present-day pedigree and you will find one of the chief foun- 
tain heads on each side of the parentage to be Champion 
Master Briar. Again the matings of his famous son, Champion 
Clonmell Monarch, are continually doubled up in "line breed- 
ing," which is the mating of half brother to half sister or 
even closer consanguinity, as in this pedigree, for example: 
Strathallen Solace (Clonmell Monarch x Clonmell Winnefreda) 
mated to his half sister Clonmell St. Catherine (Clonmell Mon- 
arch x Clonmell Kitty), produced the Crystal Palace winner, 
Cherry Royal. Again, Ch. Tone Masterpiece (Master Briar x 
Houston Nell), mated to his half sister Tone Betty (Master 
Briar x Walton Nellie), produced Champion Tone Chief, at one 
time the most noted Airedale in England. Champion Master 
Briar mated to his own granddaughter Enchantress (she hav- 
ing a double cross of line breeding of the blood of Ch. Clonmell 
Marvel) produced one of the best Airedales that ever lived, 
Champion Mistress Royal. 

The reason for this is plain. The intelligent breeder wants 
to maintain all he can of the type and character of a noted 
sire or dam. In mating half-brother and sister, that have the 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



same sire but from different dams, the produce having the 
strengthening double cross of their grandsire will naturally 
retain a more distinctive influence of this parentage of their 
ancestry in their physical type. Such breeding has been re- 
sponsible for the maintenance and enhancement of particularly 
good type in many matings in Airedales. It is simply the 
doubling up of the influence that an extra good sire or dam will 
exert in the additional percentage of ancestral breeding or 
inheritance involved. Even closer inbreeding is occasionally 
advocated by enthusiasts on the subject, such as brother and 
sister, where the object is to retain strong characteristics that 
both brother and sister have to a marked degree, when neither 
has any bad defects. The same may be said of breeding the 
sire to his offspring. Some claim this will produce the very 
best, and look upon what are known as cold matings, namely, 
mating individuals of totally different ancestry as risky experi- 
ments. This is a subject that there must always be a wide 
divergence of views concerning. The breeder who succeeds 
even with close inbreeding points to an illustrious result as 
being a case of "nothing succeeds like success." While unques- 
tionably successful at times, in cases that have come under the 
writer's observation, only a small percentage of the produce 
is normally vigorous and satisfactory, whereas in line-breeding, 
the physical robustness is not impaired and type is materially 
strengthened. The best reputation to judge a sire by is to 
follow closely the career of some fair representatives of his 
progeny from two or more bitches. 

So eminent a student and authority on this subject as 
James Watson advocated inbreeding, to-wit: "The inbreeding 
I advocate is inbreeding to ancestry type, irrespective of con- 
sanguinity, that, coupled with soundness of constitution in the 
dog and his relations. If you cannot get this type in any out- 
side kennel backed up by ancestry, stick to your own dogs. 
If you go outside and introduce something foreign, something 
different from your own, you will only muddle things by 
crossing what you have in your dogs." "An outside sire is 
probably far more likely to transmit the qualities you would 
especially seek to avoid than to give you the benefit of his 
desirable points." 

Desirable dominating features are to be carefully culti- 
vated and should be permanently retained by continual special- 
ized selections, or in Mr. Watson's words, "To establish type, 
you must concentrate." 

The Dam. 

Study your brood matron well and with full knowledge of 
her points of deficiency contrasted with the standard require- 
ments of the ideal, mate her to a sire that is particularly strong 



BREEDING 57 



where her type can be improved. For example, if a brood bitch 
is soft and fluffy in coat, mate her to an extra sound coated 
male. If light in bone, then to a heavy-boned dog. If light 
or large in eye, then select a stud with dark and small eye. If 
she is weak in muzzle and foreface, but yet has good length 
of head, when mated to a dog particularly strong in jaw and 
foreface, the litter will tend to show the improvement desired. 
Light eyes seem to be a commonly found deficiency in the 
Airedale and some of the champion sires East and West have 
had the light eye, but this slight deficiency in the hands of 
careful breeders will steadily be more and more eliminated. 

It is safer to cling to breeding one knows the tendencies 
of and try only occasionally outside or cold blood in the use 
of a stud dog whose parentage is little known. 

The brood matron should be selected with great care. In- 
tense nervous temperaments are not to be desired. They suc- 
ceed better in the show ring or in the life of the hunting pack. 
The ideal brood matron is a most valuable asset to a kennel. 
She should be extra good in size, as perfect in type as obtain- 
able and if experienced in the game field so much the better; 
docile in temperament, the kind that will let her pups eat all 
her food pan without resentment. There is a great difference 
in the ability and disposition of brood matrons in caring for 
their litters. 

Airedales are commonly prolific breeders, some bitches 
whelping ten to twelve each litter, while others average eight 
or nine for several litters. One well-known dam (Bearwood 
Bloom) whelped three litters within twelve months and raised 
thirty-five puppies from the three. This is out of the ordinary. 

An Airedale bitch matures as a rule later than other breeds 
and her first breeding season generally does not appear until 
twelve to fifteen months of age, and with some individuals not 
until eighteen months of age. It is customary for a bitch to 
come in season four months to the day regularly from the date 
of her first period, except when mated, and then it is usual for 
her to come in again when her litter is six months old. In- 
stances are not infrequent, however, in which the brood matron 
has another litter to care for in six months from the date of 
her previous litter. Individuals differ and have to be watched. 

When your bitch begins to menstruate, she should be 
chained up in some safe place, preferably a loft or room up 
off the ground. Such an arrangement avoids all accidental 
misalliances, which while harmless as far as any influence or 
marking of future litters is concerned, result in a needless 
waste of time and opportunity considering the comparatively 
limited period of a matron's years of breeding, generally eight 
or nine years. The confinement also keeps away the annoy- 
ance of uninvited strange dogs. 



58 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 

If the bitch is to be bred, she should be mated on or about 
the twelfth day. One good mating is generally sufficient, but 
to avoid misses, it is a good plan to mate her again two days 
following first mating. When a bitch resents the advances of 
a stud, she is not ready for breeding. Some require patience 
in time allowed to become friendly with her mate. A stud 
should not be left in confinement with bitch more than one 
hour's time. Most bitches should be held by collar securely 
to avoid strains. In a week's time after being mated, she is 
usually safe again. To be sure, try her on lead, in company 
with other dogs. If she snaps at their advances, she is safe, 
but should not be given too much liberty. 

If the bitch is not mated, her confinement period should be 
twenty-one to twenty-five days. Individuals vary greatly in 
this respect. 

Too many breeders are unmindful of the care of the brood 
matron after mating, with the resultant disappointment of later 
on losing either a goodly portion or all of the litter. The 
mortality of Airedale puppies is undoubtedly great and it is 
doubtful if one-half of the number of puppies whelped each 
year live to maturity, as from various causes, their chances 
are slim to successfully tide over the many pitfalls to be en- 
countered when in the hands of inexperienced owners. Not 
long ago, the writer noticed an advertisement from the largest 
kennel on high-class Airedales in America, wanting an assistant 
whose duties should be simply the raising of puppies. One 
common mistake is to keep the brood matron too closely con- 
fined to either a kennel or a back yard. When limited to such 
a daily life, while she may whelp a litter large in number, a 
good half or more will prove to be weaklings and likely die 
off the first week. The brood matron that is given plenty of 
daily exercise, hunting, etc., keeps her system in the best of 
shape, out-of-door life giving her circulatory system plenty of 
red blood-corpuscles and in consequence her puppies are strong 
and vigorous and she can raise every pup she whelps, while a 
bitch kept too close up, confined to the household a good deal 
and allowed to get too fat will whelp small puny pups, the 
weakest of which are lost soon after whelping. When one is 
by this neglect wasting good material, breeding is better placed 
into more careful hands. This is the cause of so many large 
kennels failing to raise puppies successfully. There are so 
many birches to care for, they are not giv^en much exercise and 
live a life of close confinement, which always leads to condi- 
tions that do not support strong litters. Red blood-corpuscles 
&re nurtured best by a healthy free out-of-door life, in which 
fatty tissues do not secrete too much at the expense of the 
offspring. The small breeder and fancier who breeds only en 
occasional litter or two has a better chance of raising strong 



BREEDING 59 



robust puppies than the breeder who ha 3 more litters on haod 
all the time than he can properly provide and care for. 

A strong robust bitch can be maud her first season and 
thereafter once a year with no impairment to her health, if 
given proper care and attention. A bitch that is to be bred 
regularly for kennel use, can't be shown to advantage very 
often, as following the weaning of each litter, a bitch sheds 
her coat, and the growth of her new coat requires due time, 
so she would be in show condition in this respect but about 
half of each year. 

The period of gestation is sixty-three to sixty-five days. 
She should be fed moderately strong with meat and bone food 
during pregnancy and treated with vermifuge if needed. 
Within a week of her whelping time, she should be given quar- 
ters, away from all other dogs. 

Whelping Quarters. 

The whelping quarters should preferably be roomy, with 
exercising yard adjoining. If in warm weather, it is better to 
allow her to make her own nest on the ground under cover, 
where she will dig out a hole of moderate depth instinctively 
and thus nurse the litter with greater ease, by being able to 
get over them better. The coolness of the ground keeps the 
pups from getting over warm in hot weather and is far safer 
than a slippery floor of wood, on which puppies can't get a 
footing to nurse. Do not use straw in hot weather in whelping 
quarters, as puppies will by working their noses down into it, 
smother from lack of sufficient air. If in the cooler months 
of the year, she should be given a corner on some floor well 
above the ground, spread straw down three or four inches 
deep, and then tack burlaps over it, enclosing the nest with 
twelve-inch boards, allowing at least five feet square. Bed 
with coarse planings in which has been mixed a little 
slacked powdered lime, which should be freely dusted over 
floor of the enclosure where litter is to be kept. Hang burlaps 
down from above to keep the cold drafts off. If very cold 
weather is encountered at such a period, hang one or two 
barn lanterns inside the pen high enough up to be out of the 
bitch's immediate way. These kept lighted will take the chill 
off of the pen, and give enough heat to overcome most cold 
snaps. Heated kennels are, of course, a luxury, but not neces- 
sary. A good brood bitch is the best heat generator for her 
litter land she will bring them through any kind of weather 
if cared for and fed. In winter, success in keeping puppies 
from being chilled is assured by confining bitch to good sized 
and ventilated dry-goods box, in which her body-heat keeps 
litter warm, with temperature well below freezing. She needs 
no assistance at time of whelping, except a pan of fresh water 
available. The day before whelping, a bitch refuses all food. 



60 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



A litter of ten is whelped in about ten hours, though at times 
on the following day another puppy will be added to a litter. 
After whelping, it is well to have a pan of milk accessible, and 
she should, from then on, be fed regularly boiled rolled oats 
and rich milk in the morning, and plenty of a mixed diet 
three times each day. A meat and broth diet makes nutriti- 
ous milk for the nursing litter and the puppies grow up 
strong and healthy. A bitch fed regularly and liberally on this 
diet will nurse her entire litter until two and three months of 
age. If you slacken her diet, you must feed the pups entirely 
so much the sooner. Some breeders advocate early feeding, 
beginning when the litter is three weeks old. The writer has 
had many years of experience and tried both methods and has 
invariably had better results by feeding the bitch strong and 
the pups not earlier than four or five weeks, or in some cases 
even six weeks of age. 

Let the litter eat from the mother's food pan each time 
she is fed and the intestinal assimilation of the puppies is 
gradually in this manner strengthened by the digestive prop- 
erties of the mother's milk added to the food. Puppies when 
a month or five weeks old should be getting nicely accustomed 
to solid food rations. There need be no special weaning pei'iod, 
as the litter is getting its regular nourishment additional to 
nursing, for several weeks before the dam's milk supply 
ceases. This method maintains a better disposition in the 
dam towards her puppies and avoids too strenuous use of her 
glands and averts sore breasts. 

Should the brood bitch from accident or other cause lose 
her litter, and have to foe dried up, her breasts should be 
rubbed daily with camphorated oil or vinegar and water, and 
she should be fed dry food. Caked breasts are due to care- 
lessness and inattention to a bitch's full breast. Milking full 
breasts is sometimes necessary to bring relief. Secure one 
puppy from another litter of similar age and all trouble soon 
ceases. When puppies are past a month old, a brood bitch's 
breasts sometimes become quite sore from scratches of the 
vigorous puppies in their efforts to get a full flow of milk. 
When this is the case, take the bitch away from the pups 
and put any good healing salve on the affected parts (witch 
hazel salve is good) and allow her to nurse pups but once or 
twice daily for a couple of days, until she is right again. 

Quarters where litter is kept should be provided with a 
large box or bench, high enough off the ground to permit the 
mother to get up away from litter when desired for rest. 



CHAPTER VI. 

PUPPIES: THEIR CARE, HOW TO FEED AND RAISE 
THEM SUCCESSFULLY. 




Color and Coat. 

Airedale puppies when 
born are black in color, 
with tan feet and general- 
ly a small tan spot over 
eyes and a little tan at 
muzzle. The experienced 
eye can detect the future 
coat and color the first 
day. The light or dark 
shade of tan, as it may be, 
changes but little, but the 
placement of the tan 
markings gradually con- 
tinues to extend itself 
during the first six or 
seven months until the 
head, ears and legs be- 
come nearly all tan and 
the shoulders and thighs 
tan up to a joining of the 
body or saddle color, 
which may be grizzle or badger black or solid black. Many 
of the winning types of Airedales only a few years ago, and 
the majority of early notables in the breed, were of the lighter 
and grizzle colors, sometimes grayish blues; some fanciers 
today prefer the grizzle color to the darker shades, but in 
recent years there has been a popular demand for the darker 
saddle and rich red tan. 

This is largely a matter of personal fancy and taste. Our 
well-known American judge, Mr. Theodore Offerman, writes of 
asking, while in England, an officiating judge at a leading 
show there, how they judged the bad colored ones, and re- 
ceived the reply, "All things being equal, the black-backed 
ones would win, but a good Airedale couldn't be a bad-colored 
one." 

The puppy's coat when a day old indicates much of its 
future character. The rough ones are seen in the kinky and 
wrinkled coats and the shorter and smoother coats are in 
evidence at the start. Occasionally Airedale litters have puppies 



Five-inonths-old Puppy, nicely 
trained to show on lead. 

(Courtesy P. Bawden) 



62 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



with noticeably smooth coats. The permanently short, smooth 
coat is likely due to a reversion to inherited terrier blood. 
Such pups are not valued as show types, but when used in 
breeding to offset the other extreme, namely a shaggy coat in 
which is profusely mingled soft, silky "fluff," it becomes a 
valuable factor in correcting what may be the only serious 
defect in an otherwise excellent individual type. 

Care of Litter. 

The less a litter is handled, the better for all concerned. 
The puppies should never be handled with cold hands or lifted 
by the legs or nape of neck. Always hold in palm of hand. 
The brood bitch herself is their best caretaker, and her in- 
stinctive guardianship looks after all their needs, cleaning them 
continually with her tongue, and disposing of all fouling of 
their nest. 

If the litter after the first day is quiet, conclude they were 
born with ample vigor and started off in life well nourished, 
which is the best asset for a litter. When a litter is not car- 
ried nine weeks loss of weaklings is to be expected. When a 
puppy is not getting enough nourishment or is cold or ailing, 
it cries until its condition is righted. Some believe in raising 
a surplus pup or two on a nursing bottle. Once tried is 
enough for most anyone, as it is a day and night task, and 
generally results in over-feeding and the loss of the puppy. 

Should the litter by accident be exposed to chill the first 
day or two, and a pup be found pushed aside and stiffened out 
with no evidence of life remaining in it, take it to the oven of 
the kitchen stove, and wrap it up in warm clothing, being 
careful to see that it does not get burned, and it is almost 
miraculous how heat will resuscitate the apparently hopeless 
little one, and soon the pup, if strong otherwise, will be breath- 
ing and crying for food. 

A good mother, heavily fed on a meat diet while carrying 
her litter, will raise every pup she whelps, no matter how large 
the litter, especially if a cow happens to be handy and she is 
also fed a moderate milk and cooked rolled oats diet. Some 
matrons will lose half of their litter during first ten days. 
This may be due to the scant care of the matron after being 
mated, or in cases of young bitches, the supply of milk in 
glands is deficient. To stimulate a full supply of milk in 
glands, feed copiously cooked rolled oats and rich milk two 
or three weeks before whelping and continue while litter is 
being nursed. Daily exercise of the mother is necessary, as the 
specially rich diet given to assist her litter is a very heating 
one to the blood, and unless plenty of regular exercise is given 
her while nursing litter, the skin is likely to break out in 
spots, due to an over-heated system. 



PUPPIES: THEIR CARE 



63 



Should one have reasons for not wishing to raise more than 
six or seven of a litter, it is necessary to either provide in 
advance for a foster mother or dispose of the surplus in some 
humane manner. Any sort of a bitch that is due to whelp 
within a week previous to your litter is worth buying to raise 
extra pups with, and the change is easily arranged by being 
careful to see that the foster mother acquiesces and accepts 
the new foundlings, before leaving them with her. It is always 
safer to first discard all of her litter, and after she has been 
without her nursing pups for a couple of days she is made far 
more comfortable by having other puppies to nurse than by 
having to be dried up. 

The writer once had a setter bitch adopt a single puppy 
whose dam was taken from it because of illness. The setter 




Betty Marvel and her charges. Which does she like best? 



had no litter of her own at the time, but it happened to be 
about the time her litter would have been due had she whelped, 
and she took complete possession of the foundling, nursed it 
most carefully and cared for it as if her own. The remarkable 
feature here was the fact that the milk glands seemingly at 
once developed a sufficient supply of milk to support her 
mothering instinct. Such cases are out of the ordinary. 

The most humane method for the disposal of surplus pups 
is to either stun them, or bucket them, by taking one pail half 



64 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



full of water and after placing them therein putting another 
pail that fits in over the water air-tight. Leave them a long 
time, as it not infrequently happens that the ash barrel will 
unexpectedly show signs of life in its refuse, from the contents 
of the pail being thrown out too soon, as fresh air, even in an 
ash barrel, is a wonderful resuscitator of a day-old pup. 

The straw of the nest should be padded well up around the 
edges to keep the puppies from getting behind the mother's 
back and there smothered or chilled. Caution: Visit litter 
often the first day of whelping to see that no puppies get 
smothered. Removing puppies when dry to warm quarters in 
covered box or basket until matron is entirely through whelp- 
ing is a good custom. Shake powdered sulphur all over the 
floor of the nest as it keeps the fleas from accumulating* 
therein. Puppies that survive the first three days are safe for 
the first four or five weeks under ordinarily favorable condi- 
tions. The litter is therefore best let alone, and do not handle 
much. Bitches are capable of showing eccentricities in the 
care of litters and should be annoyed and disturbed as little 
as possible. If left on their own responsibilities they seem to 
do better, and the writer has known of instances where too 
much attention to a litter has resulted in a case seemingly of 
the bitch concluding that her services are not needed and she 
quits their care and leaves them to the tender mercies of the 
helping owner. A brood matron is intensely proud of her family 
of little ones, and they are safe at all times under her sole 
charge. It seems hardly necessary to caution an owner to 
keep all other mature dogs away from a litter, yet if one is 
not careful, losses will occur by advances from other dogs, 
especially other bitches, that are frequently disposed to be 
jealous of the newcomers and will try to possess or kill them. 

Docking Tails. 

The first real care the litter will need, which the mother 
can't supply, is the docking of the tails. An Airedale not 
docked is an abomination to the eyesight and does not pass 
muster anywhere. If a terrier, then the breed must have the 
accepted form, similarly as a hackney is molded in appearance 
and gait to suit fashion or custom. Docking should be done 
when trie litter is two or three weeks old. A sharp pair of 
scissors is all that is needed for the task. First remove the 
bitch to other quarters. Then have each pup held by an 
assistant if convenient, and cut off squarely a little less than 
one-half of the length of tail at the time. The scissors should 
be slanted a bit, top blade toward point of tail. There will be 
but little or no loss of blood and no fatalities if left alone to 
the mother's tongue for treatment. Never put on salve or any 
healing aids. In less than a week they will be nicely healed. 



PUPPIES: THEIR CARE 65 



Docking may be done successfully at any age, but it is not so 
easy a task. If ever necessary in a matured dog, use a pair of 
concave game cutting shears, freshly sharpened, or a very 
sharp chisel and mallet. The bleeding from this operation is 
profuse and best retarded by a bandage, which the dog will 
work off in a day or so. Then keep him confined in separate 
quarters until healed, for a tender tail makes a dog irritable. 
In all docking, the cut should be a good clean one, and not 
one to draw any tendons, which tends to either result in a 
drooped tail or to make it squirrel-like, depending upon which 
set of tendons is disturbed. In rare cases of crooked tails, 
docking is the only remedy, even though the result be a very 
short appendage. The common error to make in docking is 
to take off too much, and get the tail too short. A properly 
docked tail will, during puppy days, look unseemingly long, 
and only when the animal is well past a year old and has his 
full growth and development can one judge as to the sym- 
metrical length of the docked tail. The English fashion is 
for an exceptionally long tail, while the American custom has 
been to cut them too short. The fashion is settling down now 
to a tail of good medium length, and taking off a little less 
than half as pups will give the right length, and if you err at 
all, err on the safe side, and then months later it is a simple 
matter to shorten it more to fashion or taste, whereas a tail 
that is docked too short must always so remain, a blemish in 
the individual's appearance. The tail when carried erect in a 
matured dog should at its end be about level with the top of 
skull. 

Vermifuge, When Given. 

The next attention of importance which the litter needs is 
when about a month or six weeks old. Each puppy should 
then be given vermifuge to help expel the commonly found 
round or tape worm, which infest puppy life in all breeds of 
dogs no matter how careful and cleanly one may be with the 
brood bitch and her quarters. If the litter is not treated in 
this manner, your troubles will begin right here, and it is a 
whole lot easier to avoid trouble in the beginning than to be 
pestered with the complications of the illnesses to which wormy 
pups are prone later on. Some breeders give vermifuge at 
two weeks of age successfully, but it should be in very limited 
doses. Three or four weeks is early enough for ordinary lit- 
ters, and a good custom is to give first vermifuge treatment 
after the litter has been pan-fed for a couple of weeks and 
shows signs of good assimilation of food. Use what has been 
found effective and safe by others of your acquaintance in 
any of the vermifuge preparations, specially put up for the 
purpose and advertised, as far safer and better than home- 



66 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



made preparations, which are generally the result of hearsay 
prescription, the strength of which is generally more adapted 
for a horse than a tender pup of weaning age. The writer 
was once advised to give a teaspoonful of turpentine to a 
puppy by a dog fancier who claimed to have used the dose 
most successfully. Before giving the dose, an inquiry deter- 
mined that a dose one-fourth this amount was most too liberal, 
and the recommended dose was enough to impair the condition 
of the kidneys. There is but one successful method of raising 
pups and that is to keep a supply of vermifuge on hand all 
the time, and keep constantly after them; and don't expect 
to eradicate tapeworm with vermifuge that is prepared spe- 
cially for the round worm. Reference to Chapter VIII will 
give valuable information on this phase of this subject. After 
giving vermifuge, it is important to examine feces and see the 
results if any. Vermifuge should be repeated every two weeks 
regularly until the puppy is three months old and thereafter 
at stated intervals of rarely less than once each month. The 
common error with all new hands is to assume their puppies 
are all right because they look so well and seem so well 
nourished and healthy. They little dream that underlying 
these seemingly outward signs of physical perfection, there is 
a tussle on within the stomach's walls and the mesenteric 
system, which takes on the semblance of a fight for life, the 
worm fighting to get all the nutriment its colonies of parasites 
need to live, thrive and increase on from the limited supply 
the puppy gets and the worms are bound to get all they need 
before the pup gets its needful assimilation of nutriment. The 
worms are always there, for what purpose no sage has yet 
told us. Extermination is thus the only course, as they are 
certainly a constant pest to all breeders and dogs as well, and 
the only protection one has is to everlastingly keep after them 
as urged herein. The writer recommends the use of the liquid 
vermifuge as safest, as in it the worm killing and poisonous 
medium is in solution with castor oil. If pills or capsules are 
used, always follow same one hour later with a dose of castor 
oil or salts. 

Weaning and Feeding Puppies. 

When the litter is one month old, the owner must use his 
or her judgment as to when the puppies need additional 
nourishment. If the dam has been fed daily as suggested, she 
will keep the litter strong and fat until almost six weeks old, 
but if her nourishment begins to slacken or she gets irritable 
in the care of her litter, begin to feed puppies once a day for 
a week, then twice and three times daily. It is of great bene- 
fit to allow puppies to nurse as long as possible after being 
pan-fed, for the mother's milk is the best aid to digestion and 



PUPPIES: THEIR CARE 



assimilation. The writer first uses rolled oats mush and milk 
and the broth from boiled beef and mutton, lean at first, and 
later on stronger in fats, in which bread is soaked. The use 
of canned mutton broth is excellent diluted to proper strength. 
One should be careful not to place it before the puppies until 
cool enough. Feed not more than four or five pups to a shal- 
low pan, replenishing as they clean it up. This is the easiest 
way to get backward pups into lapping liquid food. They will 
balk at first, but dipping their noses into it will soon get them 
interested. 

This is not only an ideal diet and food for pups, but is a 
wonderful diet for promoting rapid growth and development. 
The best physical development the writer ever saw in a litter 
of Airedales was one which had never tasted cow's milk, bread 
or cereals in any form. They were weaned on soup, and fed 
boiled meats, 'bones and fats, regularly two or three times each 




What Brick did to a French Bull 

Mr. Henry Jewett Greene's (Worcester, Mass.) Airedale puppy, 

winner at N. E. Show, at seven months of age resenting the 

intrusion of a French Bull on his home premises. 



day until five months old, and in stature they were the equal 
of the average Airedale at eight months of age. Such boiled 
food should be salted. The reason for the results is evident. 
A dog in its native state craves and subsists largely on animal 
food, and is a scant vegetarian, so puppies should thrive en- 
tirely on their natural diet. In the life of wild animals, and 
with many good matrons, at weaning time, when the nursing 
milk supply begins to dry up, the mother returns to her 
nest, having hunted up flesh food of some kind, and after 
grinding it well up with her good teeth, has the faculty of 
retaining it in her stomach until partially digested, and then 



68 ALL. ABOUT AIREDALES 

calls her young about her by silent sign, vomiting the contents 
of her stomach up for their hearty appetites. This is fre- 
quently seen in Airedales, and is evidence of a fine brood bitch. 
If a breeder of Airedales wants to raise the big-boned, big- 
statured, the big-all-over kind, follow the ajbove method 
rigidly and you will succeed without half trying. 

When using milk, the chill should be taken off from it, aim- 
ing to get it about the temperature of the stomach. If cow's 
milk is not available, the condensed canned article is just as 
serviceable, in fact better than skimmed cow's milk or cow's 
milk, which in summer time is likely to have turned a bit 
sour. Canned milk having been pasteurized is freer from 
bacterial life and a most wholesome diet for dogs. The con- 
densed article should be properly thinned with warm water, 
as it is too rich fed without considerable diluting. To one 
part of milk add one of water. The use of puppy meal when 
the litter is being weaned, given with milk, will be found very 
satisfactory. Watch the litter for the first two or three days 
and observe carefully if the change of diet is assimilating 
properly. This is always readily detected by noticing the 
feces. If there is any continued tendency to looseness of the 
bowels, matterated, or grayish feces, give each a dose of castor 
oil, followed by a lighter diet. Over-feeding puppies causes 
much unnecessary trouble. Feed little and often and never 
allow them to bloat, but rather regulate the quantity of food 
given by a good healthy appetite decently satisfied, allowing 
for each puppy fed a measure of food equal to an estimate of 
the size of the stomach. Always take feed pan away, if not 
cleaned up, and do not leave food about to become stale, or 
sour and fly-blown. 

Fresh cow's milk, warm from the cow, is excellent for 
puppies at weaning age, for a week or two, but should not be 
continued too long until something more substantial is added 
thereto. Once or twice a week a fill-up of buttermilk or sour 
milk clabber is excellent for growing pups and the whole 
kennel, and frees the system of conditions in which intestinal 
parasites thrive. 

It is not unusual to find one puppy declining to eat when 
the others eat heartily. Separate such a puppy from the litter, 
giving castor oil and nothing to eat for six hours, then broth 
and a very slight diet for a day, aiming to rest the system. 
The use of subnitrate of bismuth is here indicated. The con- 
dition is an intestinal disturbance, due to toxine poison created 
by mal-assimilation of food. After the castor oil cleansing 
give two or three times daily one compound tablet of charcoal, 
pepsin and bismuth (or magnesia, pepsin and bismuth), or once 
daily a pinch of flower of sulphur, in food, until the feces 
become normal again. 



PUPPIES: THEIR CARE 69 

The most dependable diet for the second month is boiled 
rolled oats. When cooked, stiffen with bran, and add finely- 
ground bone meal and bread crusts, with enough milk to make 
it attractive. Increase the solids gradually until three-fourths 
of the ration, and the milk used is but a covering for it, to 
make it more tasty. Raw eggs well stirred into this ration 
once a day are a splendid dependence during the first month 
of pan feeding. Puppies should be fed three times daily until 
three months old. Do not feed too rich food; it bloats the 
stomach and causes indigestion, and makes conditions most 
favorable for intestinal worms. Add to this diet once or twice 
a week finely powdered charcoaj and your pups will thrive, if 
not fed over much. By the time a litter is two months old, 
if they have been properly cared for in their feeding, they 
should be doing nicely on three moderate rations each day, 
active and lively, not too fat, and relish every bit of food placed 
before them of the diet named. It is better to add a broth of 
boiled beef or mutton fats in place of the milk if obtainable. 
One bundle of good fats boiled down from day to day will last 
almost a week, and makes a strengthening diet to alternate 
with milk, and is a good tissue and straight bone builder. 

Bone Growth and Nourishment. 

What is known as rickets in puppies seems to be a general 
weakening of the muscles of the knee or pastern joint of the 
fore legs, causing the leg to be weak at the joint, turning the 
knee in and the foot well out or down flat on the pastern. At 
the same time the forearm gets seemingly weak knd bows out, 
and the bone will eventually curve and remain oiift as a perma- 
nent deformity, unless the trouble is averted from the start. 

Pups that are infested with tapeworm are particularly sub- 
ject to rickets, and the tendency will begin to appear in them 
at one or two months of age or thereafter. It is far easier to 
provide against its development than to give it the care and 
treatment necessary to right it when once the weakness has 
developed. (See Chapter VIII.) It is naturaMy caused by 
insufficient nourishment to the bones and rituscle tissues. 
Pups raised on boiled meat, bones and soups do not have it. 
If ground bone is not obtainable, the diet recommended to 
avert it is to add to the cereal mixture already outlined, two 
or three times a week, a spoonful of precipitated, phosphate of 
lime. This is the consistency of burned bone, and is what the 
growing pup needs to support bone growth. A pup's chewing 
on bones will not get enough to support his bone growth, so it 
is better to be doubly sure and add this white powder regularly 
to his feed pan, two or three times each week. Puppies some- 
times get completely off their legs, due to the lack of proper 
nutriment for bone growth. "A stitch in time saves nine." 



70 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 

Bones they love to knaw on, and they benefit their grow- 
ing teeth. Hard bread crusts are excellent for young pups to 
chew on. Dog cakes should be soaked some in water. A 
splendid relish for frequent use and change in the diet of 
pups during the entire first year of their growth is fresh 
buttermilk, not too much at a time, but at stated intervals 
during week, or daily. Thick sour milk is excellent occasion- 
ally, but not too often. Pups that eat ravenously and are 
always greedy, bloating heavily after eating, show signs of 
worms, and should be given vermifuge after a fast of twelve 
hours for a couple of treatments on alternate days. 
Exercise. 

Puppies exercise themselves in play enough for their needs. 
It is a mistake to give growing pups long, hard runs following 
horses or teams. They need the nourishment required to sup- 
port such excessive exercise for their growth, rather than to 
have such a tax on their system. Accustom them to freedom 
of exercise before feeding, and to their natural inclination to 
rest after eating. 

The Collar and Lead. 

During the third month fit a good leading collar to a 
puppy, and in kennels, always accustom a puppy to a collar 




Something Here 

T. C. Craig's Airedale, "Fighting- Joe Hooker" (by Ch. Red Raven), 
locating a coon in ihollow stump after a few minutes' active trail- 
ing. (From the Champion Red Raven blood in the Northwest were 
developed some of the cleverest natural hunting and dead- 
game Airedales). 



PUPPIES: THEIR CARE 71 



and lead before shipment to a purchaser, as it saves great 
embarrassment and annoyance to the new owner, if his puppy 
leads off freely, rather than to receive one that hugs the side- 
walk and has to be either carried or dragged along through a 
city's streets. It is a simple matter to accustom the puppy 
when young to proper leading. Some will be quite obdurate 
and 'bialk, and even timid, when first secured. Pet the timid 
ones, hold onto the balky ones, and keep them steadily at 
following a tight lead, until they discover it is easier to follow 
than to hold back. One or two lessons are usually sufficient, 
and it is well to encourage plenty of pulling on the lead and a 
regular daily hitch-up, until perfectly broken to it. The as- 
sistance of a child's delight to lead and run with a puppy is 
most valuable here, as the child ingratiates a spirit of play 
into the training that the puppy soon emulates. Some adopt a 
less considerate method but equally as effective in the end, 
by simply chaining the young puppy up to a wall or kennel 
and let him pull and sulk until his ambitions in this direction 
are completely subdued. This is well enough as a method 
for a grown dog that has never been on chain, for they are at 
times dangerous to be near and quite difficult to hold, espe- 
cially a strong, husky Airedale, and it sometimes takes hours 
to break a grown dog that has never had a collar and lead on 
him while young. 

Timidness Corrected. 

Some puppies are naturally inclined to be quite timid and 
shy when young, and seem slow in outgrowing the disposition. 
These frequently make wonderful game killers when mature 
and in the freedom of the hunting life quite forget their shy- 
ness. There are pups that are difficult to even call or catch 
at times, about a kennel, and the writer has found after trying 
many methods of correction that the only trusty one is to 
chain such an individual up for days at a time, in a place 
where there is plenty of passing, and noise, and mingling with 
the habitues of the place, particularly strangers. The first 
few days will be spent by the individual in cowering fright, 
but continued life on the chain will gradually bring more and 
more courage within its limitation, and in a week or two the 
pup may acquire an entirely different disposition. Such timidity 
is due to a lack of confidence in surrounding conditions, and a. 
disposition to escape to a place of imaginary safety. The 
restraint forced by the chain checks the liberty of retreat, and 
brings the individual out all right. 

It is important to instill confidence into growing puppies. 
If one meets with situations which tend to frighten a puppy, 
take him in hand and by showing him the needlessness of fear, 
much is gained for the dog's disposition. This is particularly 



72 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



beneficial in certain temperaments showing the finer sensitive 
traits of disposition. Too much confinement is bad, as it 
dwarfs their otherwise active mental development. Too much 
liberty is also, on the other hand, injurious, especially in city 
life, where a puppy will soon acquire the habits of a tramp dog 
and be causing his owner all kinds of annoyance and expense 
in getting him back again when astray, a fault which the owner 
alone is responsible for in making possible. 




A guard for poultry 



Accustom to Poultry While Young. 

A puppy when accustomed to lead should be taken on lead 
at first among poultry, and admonished for any keenness to 
interest himself in chasing chickens. The first correction is 
generally quite enough, though in some cases more checking 
is necessary. All hunting dogs are prone in disposition to 
chase chickens and birds, as it is their natural instinct. The 
only proper time to correct the error with poultry is to be there 
with discipline the first offense, and correct it quickly on the 
spot. A chicken-killing dog is not easily cured, though there 
are many methods of bringing about a correction of this most 
annoying habit. 

Analyzed, the trouble lies in an over-indulgence of an 
intensely self-willed individual to catch and kill every living 
thing that moves, except their own species. Airedales are such 
natural killers that chicken killing once indulged in is a strong 
attraction to them, and they become as determined in the 
habit as cockers, setters or pointers. Whipping severely with 
a dog amenable to command and obedience will sometimes 
check the tendency, but not often. A plan based more on a 
study of their mentality will more often bring better results. 
The old method of tieing the killed chicken securely to the 
collar of the dog that killed it and leaving it there for several 



PUPPIES: THEIR CARE 73 



days, meanwhile exposing him to more live birds, will in most 
cases bring about a temporary cure, as the mental desire for 
interesting himself in chickens, is so completely satiated that 
he quits his keenness for them, especially after having carried 
an eight-pound rooster on his neck for a couple of weeks. 
This method will succeed as well as any. The spike and choke 
collar may help with certain temperaments, but most Aire- 
dales are not to be succumbed by abuse or pain in getting 
after what they have their mind centered upon, for the game- 
ness of the breed is so great that they know no such thing 
as pain or fear, when once aroused over a killing operation. 

The writer once had a matured dog come to his place 
that soon showed his fondness for killing every chicken that 
crossed his path. Punishment was of no avail. He would 
simply stand all the punishment offered and immediately get 
up and go desperately after any poultry in sight, seeming to 
have a positive mania for the determination to allow nothing 
to get away from him. This case was studied carefully. The 
dog's close confinement in kennel yards gave him little else to 
think of, but the watching of chickens in neighboring yards, 
and it excited him when the birds got lively. This dog finally 
went to a large ranch to assist in exterminating coyotes, coons 
and bob-cats. The rancher was duly warned of the dog's 
chicken-killing propensities, but said he would take his chances 
on that if he "made good" with the larger game. The change 
of environment and getting the dog's ambitions at once cen- 
tered on killing something in the game line was of more 
interest to his mentality and had its due effect, for this dog, 
after one coyote hunt, was given full liberty of the entire ranch 
with chickens and ducks about him all the time, and though 
under no restraint the rancher informed me he never once dis- 
turbed a fowl on the place, from which we must conclude that 
if the Airedale's determined mental interest is centered in the 
right direction it will sometimes effect a cure. The only sure 
way is to start with the young puppy, and curb its first mis- 
takes, and all future trouble is averted. 

An Airedale can be raised with kittens and cats on their 
home place and become perfectly accustomed to them, in fact, 
play most considerately with them, and yet let a strange cat 
come into their domain he will kill it instantly. The terrier 
instinct everywhere is an enemy to cat life, and the Airedale 
is no exception, but an Airedale raised with a cat as a "pal" 
will not permit it to be molested by any intruding dogs. 

How to Crate an Airedale for Shipment. 

The box or crate should be plenty high enough for the 
dog to stand up easily and sit up. It need not be wider than 
barely necessary room for him to turn around in, but half 



74 



ALL, ABOUT AIREDALES 



again as long as the dog. The bottom should be punctured 
with holes for drainage and plenty of straw put in. The feed 
tin should be nailed tight to one corner and filled with soaked 
dog biscuit and a cloth sack to hold food enough for trip 
nailed securely to one outside end of crate. A dog travels 
better without water on a short journey. It only wets down 
his bedding, if put in, and does more harm than good in making 
the dog uncomfortable inside as well as out. Always nail 
water can to side of crate a few inches above the floor bedding. 
A good shipping diet is a loaf of bread and a nice boiled bone 
with lean meat to chew on in his lonely hours of travel. Al- 
ways put a collar on a dog being shipped, and a chain attached 
thereto, but do not fasten the other end, as a dog will most 
likely strangle himself in becoming twisted up with it or seri- 
ously injure a leg. The top of box should be well covered, to 
protect from bad weather, and have both sides slatted down 
about one-third the way from the top. An Airedale shipped 
in this manner will travel a week at a time in perfect safety 
and comfort. 

Warm Sleeping Quarters. 

To be successful in raising puppies, it is essential that 
their resting and sleeping quarters shall be warm and dry. 




Playing with his pal 

(Courtesy Mr. H. J. Greene) 

Airedale puppies when raised with kittens become very fond of 

them and will not harm them even when grown. Illustration shows 

the 5-month-old puppy Jack Scott and Snow Ball playing on 

their owner's lawn. 



PUPPIES: THEIR CARE 



75 



Bedding should be changed once each week. The writer has 
found that a barrel, the larger the size the better, makes the 
best sort of a resting and sleeping pen. The barrel is free 
from draughts and holds the animal heat when occupied by 
two or more puppies, according to size. Sprinkle powdered 
sulphur on the floor of the barrel, after a block or two have 
been set to keep it from rolling, then bed it with fresh straw 
and nail a small board across the lower portion of opening to 
keep the straw within. In cold weather, tack on a curtain 
made of burlap sacking, which should just clear the bottom 
board. Puppies that live in warm quarters with plenty of fresh 
air and sunlight grow vigorously. 

Attention should be given to the arrangement of the yard 
in which a growing litter is confined. A dry board and pro- 
tected platform of easy access should be provided, for when 
the ground is cold and damp, young puppies are pretty sure 
to develop goitre from constantly lying and resting on it. 
Fresh water should always be available. 

Ears, Their Care During Growth. 

The fact of the ears of an Airedale having when mature a 
high-set forward carriage makes their care during puppyhood 
and the formative period an important one to look after. For 
the first two or three months, the small and best type of ears 
generally hang backward or outward from the skull. As the 




A puppy's ears at transition stage 

(1) Three and a half months old puppy, showing irregular 
placement of left ear before the assistance of plaster to strengthen 
weak muscle. 

(2) Two weeks later. The muscle of left ear having been 
strengthened, holds ear up in proper place, uniform with right ear. 



76 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 

skull grows in size the placement of the ears begin to get 
more permanent, and at three or four months of age will 
generally begin to drop forward into place. At this stage of 
development of the ear, it is common to find one ear coming 
over into the proper place, and the other ear hanging back 
irregularly. This is due to the principal muscle of the ear 
not as yet having developed strength enough to hold it up. If 
tbe case is one that needs assistance, take surgical plaster, cut 
in one-inch pieces, and stick several pieces on the inner side of 
ear, across the weak muscle. As the plaster dries off, put on 
additional plaster strips and in a week or two remove the 
plaster and see if the muscle has strengthened enough to put 
the ear in place. Generally a couple of weeks will do the trick 
(see illustration) but in some cases it requires much patience 
and many weeks. It is important to attend to this in puppy- 
hood, for when mature the muscles have become set in their 
positions and are not so easily changed. Do not handle the 
ears or fold or pull them as they should be left alone to grow 
strong in their final placement. 

A puppy that has during the second month the desired 
and proper placement of an evenly set pair of ears will when 
mature have the same placement, though meanwhile during 
the growth of skull they may be occasionally very irregularly 
held. 

Dudley or Butterfly Nose. 

The flesh tint sometimes found in the skin covering nostrils 
of dogs is termed "butterfly" or "dudley." When prominent 
it becomes a blemish in a dog's appearance and expression. 
It is more common to bulldogs and bull terriers than other 
breeds but is not uncommon in other terrier breeds. It 
appears in certain strains of Airedales and is entirely absent 
in other strains. When detected in a litter, the mating should 
not be repeated. If the flesh tint takes the form of irregular 
striping, it is likely to be permanent. If, however, only the 
front end of nostrils fail to develop the bl%k pigment of nose, 
the condition can be assisted by treatment during puppyhood. 
Rub warm glycerine into the flesh tinted portion thoroughly 
daily, and in less than a month's time the skin will darken 
very perceptibly. 



CHAPTER VII. 

HEALTHY AIREDALES; HOW KEPT; HOUSE AND YARD 
BREAKING; THEIR VALUE. 

Having adopted the recommendations given in previous 
chapters pertaining to kenneling and feeding, the owner of one 
or more Airedales will appreciate that keeping a dog healthy 
and well mannered is of as much importance for our considera- 
tion as his care when sick, which should he a very rare condi- 
tion to have to deal with in an Airedale. 

Sensible consideration is the chief requisite. If you have 
used your Airedale for a day's duck retrieving in cold water, 
see that he has a warm fire to dry off by at night and a good 
meal. Allowing an ambitious dog to go off on long swims 
after wounded fowls, most hopeless to catch, is a useless tax 
on a dog's system. After a hard day's hunting in the moun- 
tains, see that he gets as good a meal and bed as the hunting 
party at night, and he will hunt all the better for it the next 
day. Sleeping out on cold, wet ground brings on rheumatism, 
which is much easier to avoid than treat successfully. 

Exercise, Bathing and Grooming. 

Airedales in any number in a kennel should have their 
regular hour each day for freedom and exercise, and the best 
time for this is the early morning, especially in the heated 
months. Many wash their dogs regularly, and in doing so 
have available for kennel use all sorts of disinfectant solu- 
tions and strong soaps. Unless a dog is being prepared for 
the show ring or for some special purpose, don't wash him. 
An Airedale does not need artificial bathing. Better take 
them once or twice a week for a good long run and swim in 
some open>wa£er, no matter what the weather, if the run 
home is a good lively one. Airedales in kennel life get along 
perfectly well without any bathing whatever, and will be much 
less liable to colds and ailments. Especially in summer time 
swimming is most advisable. For dogs that are subject to 
skin affections and for the improvement of coats when in 
poor condition, use soluble sulphur and lime dip: 

Constant grooming in the way of combing and brushing a 
coat is the best way of keeping it in nice condition. 

Companionship Desirable. 

Begin with the young puppy and have the dog with you 
both in and out of doors as much as possible, for companion- 



7 8 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




Sit Up 

Lake-Dell Rags, asking- for her just reward 



HEALTHY AIREDALES — HOW KEPT 



79 




The Airedale, a sportman's dog 

(1) H. V. Shaw's Interloper delivering - a retrieved duck. 

(2) A nice bag of Wilson snipe shot over an Airedale. 



80 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



ship in all walks of life is the chief developer of what is best 
in a dog's character. The Airedale particularly is such a 
brainy dog that it is almost inhuman to confine one for any 
length of time to solitary kennel life. An Airedale more than 
any other dog seemingly shows his appreciation of close com- 
panionship by clever doings. "When you own an Airedale, 
you will always have at least one friend, and whether you are 
rich or poor, he will gladly eat of what you have left. He will 
without a moment's hesitation give his life to save yours." 

House Breaking. 

The necessity of beginning young with puppies to get them 
thoroughly accustomed to the lead has been explained in 
Chapter VI. When the puppy is advanced enough so that he 
leads freely and well, accustom him to the rooms of the house, 
but keep him on lead at all times in-doors, and should oc- 
casion require it, if he is left alone for a short or long time, 
tie him up in some corner, which he will get used to and asso- 
ciate as his "rest corner." The reason for keeping the young- 
ster entirely under restraint while getting house-broken is 
that puppies delight to play freely in-doors, and are no re- 
spectors of rugs, pillows, clothes, and will do serious damage 
to household things and thus very unnecessarily get into bad 
grace with the lady of the house. They should be taken out 
of doors frequently, and always released from lead, so that 
their mental training will be to associate in their mind that 
out-of-doors means freedom, and in-doors restraint. After a 
few days or weeks it is surprising how intelligent the young- 
sters become, and they soon form neat and clean habits and 
are most trustworthy, when not on lead, but the usual custom 
of allowing the puppy his liberty in-doors as well as out brings 
on the necessity of needless punishment. I repeat, accustom 
the puppy to restraint in-doors, and he will almost ask for any 
desired freedom out-of-doors when needed, for a dog is natural- 
ly clean in habits. 

Training and Yard Breaking. 

The one underlying principle involved in successfully teach- 
ing an Airedale various accomplishments is obedience induced 
along the lines of pleasure and reward. This simple system is 
the method employed in most all animal training, wherein 
much seeming cleverness is exhibited in remarkable tricks and 
performances. While many stage exhibits when shown in 
number have the influence also of the whip, or fear of it, 
always over them, there is that more important element of 
praise and reward, for an accomplishment; especially in in- 
telligent dog nature, there is a mental fondness for even a 



HEALTHY AIREDALES — HOW KEPT 




Airedale Retrieving Quail 

(1) "Fetch." 

(2) "Give." An autumn day's sport with Lake-Dell Leader 
and upland game. 



82 ALL. ABOUT AIREDALES 

slight sign of praise and reward, for which the individual will 
do anything, which by custom he has been made to under- 
stand is desired, to please his master or mistress. Even the 
performing seals and other animals in a circus go through 
their daily stunts and receive as their incentive what appeals 
to them most, some tempting morsel of food. Without it, 
there would be no way of interesting the animals in their 
varied accomplishments. 

This, then, is the fundamental requirement of teaching 
your Airedale any accomplishments. It must also be accom- 
panied by having instilled into your dog perfect confidence 
and affection for the master and teacher. The method to 
employ should be the taking of a few minutes each day, which 
the owner can spare from his or her leisure time, and if but 
once a day, make the time a regular fixture, always to be 
kept, as the most important engagement, at least for the 
puppy, in every day. The youngster will soon look forward 
to this daily schooling and anticipate its coming. The pupil 
should always be taken on lead to a room or basement, or 
quiet place out-of-doors, where nothing else, such as the 
presence of another person or dog, will attract his interest 
and attention, for the speedy success of efforts to teach him 
depend on keeping his interest for the nonce centered com- 
pletely on the suggestions given him. Provide yourself with 
a few tid-bits to his liking, and keep them in your pocket. 
During the period devoted to training, allow no one to feed or 
handle your dog. The Australian sheep dogs that are world 
famous for their wonderful feats of intelligent work are 
so carefully handled and trained that only their keeper is 
allowed to speak to them or feed them. Their watchfulness 
of a herder's slightest suggestion makes them keen for their 
work. 

First Lessons. 

One of the first useful habits of obedience which he should 
carry through life is that of "lie down." One of the most 
annoying habits any dog can have is that of not being under 
positive and immediate control, when in-doors, or when ex- 
cited, delighting to show his interest in one and all by jumping 
up, generally with muddy or dusty feet, on clean clothes and 
dresses of his friends and admirers. This is a bad habit alto- 
gether too common in most dogs that have never been taught 
better manners, for a dog can be equally as well mannered as 
its master, if so guided. While mentioning this bad habit, I 
will state that the quickest remedy for its correction is to im- 
mediately tread a bit firmly on his hind toes, and it will not 
occur many times again. But to return to our pupil. He 
must be taught to drop down flat instantly at command. In 



HEALTHY AIREDALES— HOW KEPT 



S3 




84 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



teaching, all commands that are to be obeyed must be repeated 
quietly and often, to the pupil, while the effort is being made 
to show the pupil what is wanted. Whatever word of com- 
mand the teacher is going to use must be repeated several 
times and during the assistance given to enforce its gradual 
obedience. "Charge," "Lie Down," "Drop," "Drop Down," 
and a sharp hisp are all used, according to preference. Take 
the pupil and, repeating the command "Lie Down," gently but 
firmly push him backward until he is properly lying down. 
Hold him firmly until his struggles to get away cease, and 
after a minute of reluctant acquiescence release the hold with 
the command "Get Up" or "Up." Praise him immediately 
with much petting and a reward of some little bite to eat. 
After a moment's rest repeat, going through the same stages. 
Keep this up for four or five efforts the first time, and in- 
crease the lesson a bit each day, though not long enough to 
tire or discourage either pupil or teacher. Training a dog 
requires a great deal of patience on the part of the teacher, 
holding one's temper, as quickness in resentment of seeming 
stupidity or wilfulness will lose more ground gained than any 
other influence. You must keep absolutely the confidence of 
your pupil at all times. After the second or third lesson in 
this command, the teacher will find the puppy almost anticipat- 
ing the command and quite willing to drop down without any 
material pressure of the hands, though before taking the hand 
suggestion away entirely, a simple touch of the hand is enough. 
Soon, this is eliminated and the pupil drops instantly at com- 
mand. Always see that the obedience is immediate and not 
half way. If any liberty is granted in this direction it will be 
taken too freely. Whenever there is disobedience in not doing 
what the pupil has already done once or more times success- 
fully and satisfactorily, don't scold or punish, but simply under 
identically the same conditions as you started in with, take 
the pupil back and go through the early stages again and 
increase these faster, of course, until the obedience is positive 
and satisfactory. One or two weeks time is all that is re- 
quired to permanently teach any young dog this most useful 
habit of obeying the command "Down." One can even be able 
to whisper the command and have it obeyed, but never fail to 
have the reward of some kind for the willingness to obey, even 
if but a hand pat. A dog properly taught this command will 
"Lie Down" at command no matter under what surroundings 
he is in, and at any distance within hearing from his master. 
Obedience to the command "Heel Up" is also most important 
for an Airedale to know. This command should be taught by 
adopting the same methods of suggesting it in regular daily 
lessons as previously described. An umbrella or cane, with 
hook handle, is of much assistance in holding the pupil exactly 
where the teacher wishes to have the pupil understand the 



HEALTHY AIREDALES — HOW KEPT 



85 



command is to be obeyed, namely, just at the side, with head 
preferably a little in advance of the knee. Hold the pupil 
exactly there and repeat the command frequently as he is led 
along. Reward the progress made and permit of his release 
only after the command "Get Away" has been given, with 
which is to be associated unrestrained freedom. What is nicer 
to see than a well-mannered Airedale on a crowded street fol- 
lowing his owner absolutely at HEEL, with no wish to interest 
himself in passing dogs, until released from his obedience? In 
these days in city life, when the speeding motor cars so quickly 
end a dog's life that is accidentally caught in the roadway, 
this habit of obeying the command HEEL is most necessary, 
and every dog that is to be much of a companion in city or 
town life should be thoroughly schooled in these first few 
commands of "Down," "Get Up," "Heel" and "Get Away." 
They will save one a great deal of annoyance, and it is a 
simple matter to exact implicit obedience, no matter how stub- 
born and self-willed the pupil. The younger these lessons are 
begun, the better the results and more quickly accomplished. 
A dog just past three months old is the right age to begin to 
school thoroughly in the progress to be made in house and 
yard training. 

The methods of training which are frequently used with 
other breeds, with such excellent results and which involve 




C. Cobb's big-game hunting Airedales in camp, after a 
successful hunt. 



86 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



the use of the force tactics, whether collar or other methods, 
are not suited at all for success with an Airedale. The Aire- 
dale is an exceptionally sensitive dog to punishment or force, 
and yet embodying, as he does, the utmost gameness and 
courage cannot be so well coerced into obedience by the force 
and pain methods, as by the more humane methods of pleasure 
and reward, and its more happy-mannered results. This is 
termed the natural or pleasure system, as opposed to the force 
system, which latter is much in vogue in curbing and training 
setter and pointers. The performance of any dog trained by 
the pleasure system is so far superior to that of the "have to 
do it, whether I want to or not" force system that there is no 
room for argument. The Airedale is adapted temperamentally 
to the pleasure system, and any use of the methods of the force 
system (with which the writer is most familiar in years of 
having broken his setters with its use) are likely to prove most 
unsatisfactory. 

Punishment. 

Punishment is something that should be employed when 
the occasion demands in the proper manner. It is most im- 
portant that it should never be administered except in the 
right way. Punish seldom, but when you do, do it thoroughly 
and well. A leather strap is excellent to use, or a limber stick, 
but the latter is too likely to break. Never call a dog to you 
to punish him for disobedience; always go to the dog, and be 
certain to repeat between spells of chastisement the command 
disobeyed, which the dog has been taught and knows the 
meaning of. 

Coming When Called; Other Accomplishments. 

A dog should be accustomed to come when called and come 
on the run. This is easily accomplished, by making it a 
custom whenever feeding a dog to always use the whistle 
which one wishes to have as the call. He will soon associate 
the hearing of this particular whistle with pleasure, and always 
respond to it quickly in preference to any other call. 

Any of the other many tricks and accomplishments that 
dogs are taught can be easily taught an Airedale by following 
the suggestions and methods outlined in this chapter. The 
writer once owned a particularly smart dog, that had been 
taught when a puppy a great many household tricks, which 
were most amusing in their way and the source of much en- 
tertainment to friends and visitors. These tricks consisted of 
the usual commands, of down, play dead, sitting up, shaking 
hands, seeking to find, bringing, getting one's hat, gloves or 
slippers as the command might be, and one other, that of 
shutting a door, when left open. This dog was most popular 



HEALTHY AIREDALES — HOW KEPT 87 



with all his admiring friends and was finally owned by a 
prominent dentist, who was prone to keep him in his offices 
for the entertainment of waiting and nervous patients. On 
one occasion, after showing off some of his accomplishments 
before an admiring audience, the door was left ajar, and 
Drake was told to "shut the door," whereupon with a bound 
he landed with his forefeet on the door with such force that 
its shutting broke every pane of glass in it, much to the ex- 
citement and consternation of the visitors and considerable 
embarrassment for his new master. 

An Airedale is so brainy that they learn quickly and are 
willing and able to do anything one wishes them to do, if the 
owner but takes the time necessary to show them what is 
desired. There is no breed more intelligent than the Airedale 
and few their equal. 

Longevity. 

There is no reason why an Airedale, well cared for, should 
not prove himself actively useful in any of the pursuits in life 
for which he is used for the first ten years of his life. After 
this come the gradual declining years of advancing age. 

Value of an Airedale. 

We frequently hear the inquiry: "What is an Airedale 
worth?" and a brief consideration here of what constitutes 
value in an Airedale is deserving. Value in anything depends 
largely upon for what purpose it can profitably be used. An 
Airedale puppy at shipping age is generally conceded to be 
worth from $25 to $50 and more, depending upon the quality 
of its breeding, the public reputation of its parentage and the 
purpose for which the puppy in question is to be used. The 
successful raising of the puppy, until a year or so old, doubles- 
its purchase price value. A dog that succeeds in winning at 
public shows increases in value very rapidly, the result of 
public admiration and demand by fanciers for his partic- 
ular type and individuality, and the added value for his 
use in breeding. A winning show dog or bitch is worth from 
$250 up to $1,000 and more, depending on the extent of his 
or her career and prospects as a stock dog of value to a 
breeder. "Why is an Airedale worth so much?" is easy to 
answer. The public demand for the best that can be bred is 
greater than the supply of those that money can buy. For 
example, take the case of a promising show winner, that sells 
his first season for $200 or more. If a dog, and he is taken to 
a section where continued wins can make him famous as a 
leading show winner, his use at stud, the result of advertising 
and the dog's public reputation, at even very moderate fees, 
pays for his purchase price frequently the first year, and many 
a successful sire and stud has earned two and three times his 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



purchase price the first two years of his career before the 
public. If a bitch, the reputation won by her public competi- 
tion at once places a strong demand on her pups, and when 
successfully bred, her litter sells for enough to pay for her 
purchase price, and all subsequent litters represent net profits 
on her investment in addition to her sale value as an individ- 
ual. Can you think of anything that makes money for an 
owner faster than a successful brood bitch, in Airedales? For 
example: A female puppy purchased, we will say, at $25, 
when a year old, may have cost its owner all told, including 
feed and care, $35, and ia mating to some noted sire $25 
more, or a total investment of some $60. Add $5 to this sum 
for advertising litter and $10 for feeding the lot until sold 
(quite liberal enough) and the public demand does the rest, 
and purchases the entire litter, if properly handled, for an 
average of $200. This good brood bitch continues to present 
her fortunate owner with a litter or two each year, until She 
will have had at least five litters, we will say, none of which 
will show a less return than the first litter, which brings the 
financial return from one Airedale to a sum between $900 and 
$1000 on an investment that may vary from $25 to $200. Is 
it any wonder, then, that the breed is getting the reputation of 
being the most profitable one on earth? And with such 
results, big prices of celebrated dogs are more than justified, 
for they bring the returns. 

Again, we will look at another field of usefulness for the 
puppy that is purchased we will say at $25, and successfully 
raised by the mountain hunter or trapper in one of the Western 
states in which the bounties on predatory animals are the in- 
ducement for many a sturdy lover of outdoor life to maintain 
his existence from his successes in hunting. With the assist- 
ance of this Airedale when educated to its life, the hunter is 
enabled to get returns which were not possible for him as a 
trapper without a dog. Bounties of $25 for cougar, $5 for 
cats, one or two dollars for coyote and other such payments 
paid in most states, enable him to add a good $200 at least and 
sometimes twice this to his annual income. In addition, the 
sales of pelts to the fur market, the world over, make him a 
comfortable living, in all of which the Airedale forms the most 
important aid and makes a much larger financial income possi- 
ble. Ask such a successful hunter, as the writer has repeatedly 
done, what price he will accept for his faithful and perfectly 
trained Airedale, and you will generally find it a case of "no 
price," or a prohibitive one, for an experienced hunting Aire- 
dale is intrinsically worth more than a trained setter or pointer, 
as the Airedale's experience is toward a commercial end, in 
addition to the element of sport, so if $100 or $200 is the 
accepted popular price of a trained setter, a trained Airedale 



HEALTHY AIREDALES — HOW KEPT 89 



is worth this and more, for his work actually earns this sum 
for his owner each year, when properly applied. 

So, it is seen, no matter what walk in life we follow the 
Airedale, we find his existence capable of bringing to his ad- 
miring owners large financial returns, considering his cost, and 
much more than the average return from any other livestock 
individual, be it cow, sheep or horse, with far less cost for 
"keep," and always something more than a mere animal, 
which should prove to the satisfaction of all, the sound and 
dependable commercial value of the Airedale. Other breeds 
there are that have a share of public popularity and a fancier's 
value, too, but none are capable of being able to also add so 
much to the owner's financial income in practical usefulness, 
either protecting livestock, safe-guarding poultry, or the best 
assistant to the hunter, and at the same time a profitable 
breeder and show dog. 

Dog Fights, How Separated. 

It sometimes happens that dogs get into a quarrel over a 
disputed bone, or get mixed with some stranger, when one's 
desire is to separate them as soon as practicable, without 
injury to either. For example, we will suppose a mongrel bull 
has got an unrelenting hold on your Airedale, and you see 
promise of a broken limb or a long drawn out tangle, how can 
you separate them with least trouble and danger? In the first 
place, if possible, get hold of the tail of one or the other and 
have someone else do likewise with the other dog, lifting hind 
quarters off the ground. If water is handier than anything 
else, a bucketful will likely separate them, but sometimes this 
Is futile. The surest thing is to light a match and hold it at 
the nose of the dog which has the hold. A lighted piece of 
paper is better and instantly separates them. Do not kick or 
beat either one, as this barbaric method is positively useless 
when applied to dead-game dogs. 

The writer once had a grown Airedale sent to him that had 
become a vicious fighter due to lack of proper discipline 
when young. He would attack and kill any dog within reach. 
He was sent out big-game hunting with a pack of other dogs, 
whose handler broke him quickly by putting a muzzle on him, 
and in his first attack he was severely punished, and scolded 
until obedience was manifest. Then with muzzle removed he 
mixed with pack and fought with them on game with no more 
trouble to them or strange dogs met with. 

Photographing Airedales. 

To secure a real good picture of a dog is a most difficult 
task, as all can testify who have tried. A few suggestions here 
will be helpful for the inexperienced. It is natural for most 



90 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




Airedales at Work on Big Game in Alaska 

(1) Black bear in dense thicket near Seward, held by the ag- 
gressive fighting of Airedale "Tackier," long enough for photo- 
graphing by Emsweiler. 

(2) Tackier, Vic and two pups fighting "Wolverine, near Seward. 
(While illustrations are hardly more than silhouettes, the rarity 
of these pictures will be appreciated by those who have tried to 
take action pictures of wild animals.) 



HEALTHY AIREDALES — HOW KEPT 91 

anyone who wishes a good picture of a dog to suppose that a 
regular photographer is the proper party to take it, but except 
in rare cases the result is most unsatisfactory, as the photog- 
rapher is not generally sufficiently acquainted with the type 
of a breed from a fancier's standpoint to know when a dog is 
in a good position. To secure a good photograph of any dog, 
the operator of the camera must know his subject and even be 
a student of the type of the breed. Dog photography is the 
most uncertain in securing acceptable results of all work in 
this line. It must necessarily be instantaneous work. If a small 
camera is used, which in many cases are productive of excel- 
lent results, it is best to use one with a universal focus. 
Guessing a distance or focus is very uncertain. The work 
should always be done out of doors in strong, clear light. The 
camera must have a good finder, and the best camera to use 
is the reflex camera, in which you see your object all the time, 
and focus accordingly. Studio pictures are rarely successful, 
except with excellent subjects, that are easy to get into typical 
positions. The heat of a studio gets the dog to panting, with 
tongue out and mouth open, and the dog indoors lacks the 
animation desired in a picture. -The assistance of someone 
who knows the breed well is most valuable in handling the 
dog on lead in such a manner as to get him into a good posi- 
tion. The best pictures are likely to be taken when the subject 
gets interested in the sight of some other dog or preferably 
a cat. Attempting to pose a terrier for a picture is fruitless, 
for the animation desired, attention keen, with ears up in 
place, mouth shut and tail well up, can only be secured by 
strategy. It is much better to secure this intent position off 
the lead if possible and while it may tax the patience of the 
operator, it can be successfully done by taking plenty of time 
and not getting the dog too much excited over the effort. 
Don't forget the fundamental requirement of a good picture 
for light, to have the sun at your back and never try taking 
the picture with the dog between the camera and the sun. If 
possible get a light background, such as a roadway or planking, 
so that the feet will show. Do not get the legs lined up, 
but have all four show. A dog that is fond of retrieving any- 
thing thrown can be caught in a watchful position readily. 
Avoid getting too close as it will foreshorten the part of the 
dog nearest the camera. Use Sigma plates for best results, 
timed according to strength of light. To get the opportunity, 
the light and scene, of Airedales at work on game, in encounter 
or holding big game at bay is a very difficult feat, as condi- 
tions are generally such as to forestall satisfactory results. 
For example, a bear when pursued by Airedales takes to the 
densest of thickets and wilds, in which light hardly penetrates, 
and on the approach of man, it requires a wonderfully aggres- 
sive Airedale to be able to stop the bear's egress long enough 



92 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



to get a snapshot with either camera or rifle. The illustration 
herein of a bear held at bay in an Alaskan tangle by one 
Airedale is for these reasons a rare picture. Though the detail 
is lacking, it is just possible to make out the Airedale's figure 
in the lower right-hand corner, with the outline of the bear 
very plainly visible in the central background. When one 
stops to realize what a very critical moment the camera reveals 
in this picture, its rarity is apparent. 

It is frequently desirable to remove the background from a 
picture. This is readily done by the use of liquid opaque, 
put on with a fine brush on the film side of the negative. Be 
careful to follow the exact lines of all edges of the subject, 
for the faking of a picture is rarely done well enough not to 
show. This is most frequently seen in lowering the line of 
the muzzle. 

Many of the illustrations in this book are exceedingly fine 
pictures from every standpoint, while others used could have 
been greatly improved had the camera man better understood 
the tact required. 

Most every big-game hunter has tried in vain to get a 
good photograph of his dog in action when on game. The 
difficulties attendant are countless, for such a scene as is 
shown in the illustration "An Exciting Moment," on the previ- 
ous page, embodies more necessary conditions than the reader 
can realize without having maybe been one of those who has 
carried a camera hundreds of miles for such an opportunity. 
The incident pictured is the successful climax of a bear hunt 
near Danville, Washington. Two dogs had been trailing the 
bear for some hours and by their aggressiveness had finally 
stopped him in the thicket in the background of the picture. 
What took place next in less time than it takes to read about 
it is better told in the following letter: 

R. M. Palmer, Seattle. Dear Sir: I am glad you appreci- 
ate the picture. It took lots of hard work to get one worth 
while. We spoiled a dozen plates and this was the only one 
that there was anything to be seen on. The bear was on a 
logged-off piece of land with dense undergrowth with no trees 
big enough for the bear to climb. Another dog outside the 
picture on left had just made a dash at the bear. I was behind 
a big, turned-up tree root with camera, while my partner 
chased the bear out of the thicket seen in the background. 
One bullet from a 25-20 ended the sport. 

J. C. STUTZ, Danville, Wash. 

Inasmuch as some "knowing" hunters when first seeing 
this picture expressed their opinion that the bear must have 
been either in a trap or wounded to make the picture possible 
the writer secured credentials for it in a sworn statement, 
which precludes any criticism of nature faking, to-wit: 



HEALTHY AIREDALES — HOW KEPT 



93 




94 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



Affidavit. 

STATE OF WASHINGTON, County of Ferry, ss. 

J. C. Stutz and F. J. Marchand, residents of Danville, 
Washington, being first duly sworn on oath depose and say: 
That they were both present and instrumental in the taking 
of photograph, showing Airedale Terrier DOLLY GREY at- 
tacking or holding bear in the month of September, 1910, near 
Danville, Wash., and that immediately after said photograph 
was taken the bear was killed by J. C. Stutz, one of the afore- 
said affiants. That the bear shown in photograph was not 
held by a trap, nor wounded in any manner at the time ex- 
posure for the picture was made, but had only just emerged 
from the thicket in background of picture, being stopped by 
the aggressiveness of the Airedale's attack. The bear when 
killed weighed about 200 pounds, and was of the black bear 
species. 

F. F. MARCHAND. 
J. C. STUTZ, 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 21st day of Octo- 
ber, 1911. H. M. GENIN, 
(Notarial Seal) Notary Public in and for the State of 
Washington, residing at Danville. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 

Airedales are naturally exceptionally healthy dogs and 
many ailments which other breeds are commonly subject to, 
rarely bother an Airedale. The purpose of this chapter is to 
give some practical and useful suggestions to those who in 
emergencies are not able to call in the aid of the professional 
veterinary surgeon, and who are so situated that they have to 
ofttimes be their own dog doctor. There are a few diseases 
which the owner of an Airedale may occasionally meet with 
and wish to know how to successfully treat and cure. In the 
care of these, the suggestions and information herein given 
will be found most helpful, as being the result of many years 
of successful practical personal experience and observation. 

How to Give a Dog Medicine. 

The kennel should have a medicine chest or shelf and it is 
surprising how many articles will accumulate therein. One 
essential aid to have on hand is a long-necked bottle, which is 
particularly helpful as an easy means of giving liquids. By 
using such a bottle, placed well back into the flews of the 
cheek, the dogs mouth being held shut, the liquid contents of 
the bottle run down the throat freely and easily. In handling 
a dog for the giving of medicine, it is well to go about it in a 
manner least excitable to the individual. This is best done by 
standing on the right side of your patient, and with the left 
hand passed over the shoulders and under the jaw, use the 
left thumb and fingers in opening the mouth. Place thumb 
and fingers back of the teeth, which gives one perfect safety 
from a possible accidental pinch, as the thumb and fingers are 
a complete wedge of the opened mouth, and the right hand is 
then free to use for the placement of medicine down the 
throat. In all cases, where possible, give medicine in the form 
of soluble gelatine capsules, as one has little difficulty with 
their use in getting medicine down the throat and swallowed, 
for by holding the mouth shut tight after placing a capsule 
well back in the throat, the dog is unable to throw the capsule 
forward with the tongue, and will swallow it, especially if 
hastened in the operation by tapping the outside of throat. 

Intestinal Parasites; How Removed. 

Most of the ailments common with Airedales are during 
their first year, and the extermination of parasitic worm life 
is the most important preventative of a sick dog. Beginning 



9 6 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



during the second month of a puppy's life, one should carefully 
scrutinize the feces of all puppies and ascertain if they are 
infested with worms, either round or the tape worm. Fre- 
quently a puppy will be full of worms, and yet rarely show 
signs in its feces. It is best to give a puppy a dose of liquid 
vermifuge when one month or six weeks old and repeat each 
two weeks for a month and then treat once each month. One 
very common mistake is the giving of vermifuge suited only for 
the removal of the round worm, and not at all suitable for 
expelling the tape worm, with the result that the dog's condi- 
tion remains unsatisfactory until the mistake is discovered. 
Some remedies expel both forms of these parasites, and other 
remedies are specially prepared for the removal of each kind. 

If you detect signs of the long curled (pointed at each 
end) round worms in the feces, usually accompanied by slimy 
or mattery stools, the dog should be treated with any one of 
the standard vermifuge preparations suited to remove the 
round worm. Santonine and calomel pills are dependable, 
also a simple initial treatment is to give each puppy gelotin 
capsules (5 grain size) filled with turpentine followed an hour 
later by tablespoonful of castor oil. 

Mixing powdered charcoal in food for a day or two before 
treatment for worms is particularly helpful in removing much 
of the accumulated mucuous in the intestinal tract. 

The presence of tape worm, decidedly the most deleterious 
to the dog's system with young or old, and in fact to be con- 
sidered an actual plague in dog life, is readily detected by 
observing if the feces have clinging to them little short seg- 
ments, vvhite and active when first dropped. These are some- 
times erroneously called pin worms. A dog having tape worm 
is frequently troubled with sore spots on the skin, particularly 
near base of tail, and shows much restlessness in knawing 
his skin and tail. Tape worm segments vary in size, depending 
on size of the dog and the length of time the infested tape 
worm growth has remained in the intestinal tract. Some are 
barely one-third of an inch in length while again segments 
will be found an inch and more in length. Washed out in 
water tbey are seen to be flat and in a regular succession of 
joined or broken segmentary parasitic life. The head of this 
worm is a small black spot and unless the treatment is thor- 
ough erough to kill the parasite, so that the head releases its 
attached hold on the walls of the intestine, the worm life 
develops again. It is thus important to watch the results of 
treatment for tape worm and see if the head has been expelled. 
The standard vermifuges advertised for the particular purpose 
of removing this worst of all pests in a dog should always be 
kept on hand in the medicine chest. Particularly in the treat- 
ment for removal of tape worm, one should tie a growing dog 
up, and (except for water) allow the animal to have nothing 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 97 

enter the stomach for 36 hours prior to giving medicine. A 
dose of epsom salts or pan of milk to which has been added a 
tablespoon of sulphur is also helpful in emptying the contents 
of the intestines, to starve the worm life to a condition which 
will quickly absorb the poisonous remedy administered. A 
dog thus fasted is in fit condition to rid itself of the tape worm 
when the medicine given passes through the intestinal tract, 
and it is not infrequent that, in particularly bad cases, within 
an hour strings of tape worms, yards in length, will be passed. 
It is important not to feed a dog under three hours after 
treating for tape worm, and then with liquid or bland rations, 
as tape worm remedies are intensely cathartic, and the diges- 
tive system should not be taxed with much solid food at first. 

If one is where remedies for this ailment cannot at once be 
obtained, in their prepared forms, good results can be secured 
by giving turpentine and sweet oil mixed in proportion to one 
of the former to two parts of the latter. Give puppies one 
teaspoonful and increase the dose for older dogs to two spoons- 
ful. This remedy should be used sparingly. However, in an 
emergency this dose will promptly do its work; ten drops of 
turpetine mixed with a spoonful of castor oil, to which add 
five drops of creolin, is a very effective vermifuge. 

Areca nut is a commonly used remedy, the dose for grown 
dogs being two grains for every pound he weighs; and for 
puppies past two months old, one grain to the pound weight 
of the dog; after fasting 24 to 36 hours and always followed 
by a dose of castor oil, an hour or two after administering the 
Areca nut. In the powdered form it is very bitter, but in 
capsules is very effective, and expels both round and tape 
worm. 

The writer uses it in preference to other remedies. After 
12 or 24 hours fasting prepare the intestinal system by giving 
sulphur, molasses and a little milk. Then 12 hours later mix 
the powdered Areca nut with domestic cooking oil and give in 
food pan stirred up in a little milk or an egg. Food should not 
be given sooner than three to six hours following. A teaspoon- 
ful of Areca nut for a litter of six or eight puppies is safe, and 
one teaspoonful of the powdered nut for a fully grown 
Airedale. 

Extract of Male Fern is another dependable remedy for 
tape worm. Give 10 to 3 drops mixed with sweet oil or beaten 
up in an egg, and followed an hour later by a dose of castor 
oil. A good plan is to mix 2 oz. Extrtact of Male Fern in a 
bottle with 6 oz. of olive oil. Shake well before using and for 
adult dogs past six months, give one teaspoonful after fasting 
24 to 3 6 hours. 

If a young puppy once gets thoroughly infested with tape 
worm its ailments will multiply fast, for a wormy puppy does 
not get its proper nutriment and its membraneous intestinal 



98 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



tissue becomes inflamed, causing indigestion, white coated 
tongue and pale gums, colds, running at the eyes, coughs, bloat- 
ing after eating, and thinness of flesh. The coat looks un- 
kempt, and the legs soon begin to show signs of rickets in the 
form of bowing out, and weakness at the joints. 

In grown dogs the presence of tape worm is frequently 
indicated by a retching bronchial cough, very similar to the 
cough preceding distemper, and at times mistaken for it. 

If vermifuge pills or capsules are used, it is important to 
follow same an hour or so later with a dose of castor oil, even 
with medicine marked "No physic required," for many puppies 
have died from these poisonous remedies remaining in the 
system too long. Be on the safe side and follow their use 
with physic. 
Rickets. 

This condition is common in puppy life, when there has 
been negligence in not removing tape worm from the system, 
or when the diet lacks the necessary sustenance for bone 
growth and nutriment for proper formation and growth of 
muscular tissue. 

Rickets is about what the name implies, a weakened con- 
dition of the muscles, joints and finally crooked bone forma- 
tion, which if allowed to become advanced in its development 
gives the dog a rickety and unsteady gait in moving about, in 
which he often falls and becomes quite helpless. 

It first manifests itself in the knee joints of the forelegs, 
which begin to swell and knee-in, the pasterns turning out 
and the forearm beginning to bow out. In wormy pups this 
condition will be noticed the second and third months. At 
times if the hindquarters are affected, the muscles in the thigh 
become inert and the dog drags his hind parts after him, and 
is unable to get up and steady itself on its legs. This condition 
is due to a temporary partial paralysis that is brought on from 
weakened parts or inroads of the tape worm, which seriously 
affect the kidneys. 

Rickets yield to treatment readily, if taken in time, and 
while at times the recovery is slow, it is certain of cure, if 
the patient is considerately dealt with and faithfully attended. 
After treatment and removal of tape worm as directed in this 
chapter, the dog should be confined to dry and warm quarters, 
free from the annoyance of other dogs. Feed three times 
daily a moderate amount of boiled meats and bones. Give 
daily, cod liver oil to which should be added a pinch of calcium 
phosphate of lime; dose according to age, not exceeding one 
tablespoonful morning and night. If the dog is weak in the 
loin and loses control of his hindquarters and legs, give two 
or three times daily one or two tablets (according to age) of 
Pape's Diuretic and continue until cured, enlarging scope of 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 99 



diet only after limbs are strong and straight again. (Pape's 
Diuretic can be secured from any druggist.) The writer has 
seen a grown dog so badly infested with tape worm that when 
it had been removed, the hind parts were completely paralyzed 
and the dog unable to move. In less than a week of the treat- 
ment recommended herein the dog was up and around and 
well again. 

It is much easier to avoid the conditions that develop 
rickety pups than to have to patiently treat for the recovery 
and cure of the dogs when afflicted with it. In Chapter VI 
the diet to depend upon for avoiding the development of 
rickets is given: Briefly, feed plenty of fats and boiled meats, 
plenty of bones to chew on, and mix regularly with food pre- 
cipitated phosphate of lime or powdered bone meal. 

Mange. 

Singularly enough, most all cases of supposed mange or 
eczema are little more than the effect of an impoverished con- 
dition of the blood of the system, due to the inroads of worms 
in absorbing most of the food nutrition. The writer had oc- 
casion to see one Airedale that had been treated unsuccess- 
fully for mange and eczema for two years' time. After once 
the worms were expelled (tape), the skin healed quickly with 
the assistance of one of the usual remedies which previously 
had been used in vain. 

Genuine mange is a very unpleasant ailment, and is not 
common in Airedales, owing to their thick protecting coat, but 
at times it may be contracted from the infected skin of other 
dogs, or from being kenneled where the contagion exists, such 
as sleeping where a mangy dog has slept. It is generally first 
detected in the skin behind the ears or in armpits. As soon 
as sure signs of it are manifest in mattery sore spots, rapid 
loss of coat, and its tendency to spread over the skin of the 
animal, treat skin with any one of the following remedies: 
To a pint of crude petroleum, add 5 per cent Formaldyhide, 10 
per cent Avenarius Carbolineum, and a little Zenoleum. Add 
enough motor oil to thin mixture, then rub thoroughly into 
coat all over body with a brush (the dobbing brush of a show 
set). If mange is present, it will soon disappear. After two 
or three days wash dog off with cleansing tar soap. 

Mix up a pound or two of flower of sulphur with lard 
enough so that there is no color of the Hard left in evidence, 
then add a cup or two of ordinary coal oil, mixing thoroughly 
and just thin enough to go on well. Rub the dog all over 
with this mixture and leave it on for several days. Lard 
serves as the carrying agent of the cleansing and curing prop- 
erties of the sulphur and coal oil. This simple remedy will 



100 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



cure the most persistent case of miange, and if one treatment 
does not entirely cure, repeat, and then wash with any good 
cleansing soap. 

Another most valuable mange cure and one that is thor- 
ough and quick, though a bit more costly, is alcohol three 
parts and cade oil one part. This solution should be applied 
and rubbed in well on the sore spots and left on. Do not 
wash while applying this remedy daily. Its quick healing prop- 
erties are remarkable and most efficient. 

The ordinary commercial sheep dip is effective used as a 
cleansing wash, and very good results are to be had from use 
of soluble sulphur compound in water as a daily wash. 

Eczema. 

Eczema is the result of an impoverished condition of the 
blood, and causes most aggravating scratching of the inflamed 
parts. Treatment should consist of a complete change of diet 
and exercise in moderation, plenty of boiled vegetables, sul- 
phur in molasses put in food regularly twice a week. Mix up 
a strong solution of epsom salts and water, and with soft 
brush rub the solution into the inflamed skin all over the 
body. Treat any positive sore spot occasionally with the fol- 
lowing "yellow salve," viz.: Ac. Salicyl, y s oz.; Ac. Boric, 1 oz.; 
Sulphur, 1 oz.; Vaseline, 3 oz.; Lanolin, 3 oz. 

Eczema is a condition which is proverbially slow to be 
eliminated from the system. The writer has observed the 
quickest results from the use of blood tonic capsules, which 
reach the building up of the blood corpuscles. Goff's Blood 
Capsules at the cost of one dollar per box will be found very 
beneficial. 

Inflamed Eyes. 

This salve is also valuable in treatment of mattery eyes 
and lids. Rub it on lids and drop saturated solution of boracic 
acid into eyes daily. (Particularly beneficial in distemper). 

Cankered Ears. 

This condition sometimes develops from irritant dirt get- 
ting into the inner ear, which creates a foul state, with a 
virulent smelling discharge. Cleanse the ear carefuly with a 
soft cloth and warm water, using pure castile soap. Before 
thoroughly dry, take a handful of Mule Team Borax and 
shake well down into ear without further washing. Shake 
more borax into the ear and the next day or two, and they 
will soon clear up and be perfectly healed. 
Sore Ear Points; Split or Bitten Ears. 

Airedales are frequently troubled with slit ear points, the 
result of encounters, scratches from game killed, or from 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 101 



contact while hunting in thick coverts. Airedales that have 
the hound ear with a growth of long coat thereon are not 
usually bothered with this trouble, only those with the more 
essentially terrier ear. These when split become very sore, 
and by constant shaking of the head bleed freely. Treatment: 
Clean the sore edge with warm water and soap; then cleanse 
with Peroxide of Hydrogen. After drying, take nitrate of 
silver points and cauterize the exposed tissue, repeating the 
operation once or twice a week, until completely healed. 
(Salves and other healing ingredients are useless in the treat- 
ment of this annoying trouble.) 

In cases of torn or bitten ears, after the profuse bleeding 
has subsided, imbed the raw edge in absorbent cotton, on 
which is first placed a mixture of boracic acid powder and 
tannic acid powder, in proportions of one-half of each, or 
Squib's Compound Alum Powder, and after one day, remove 
the absorbent cotton, having first soaked it well in warm 
water, cleanse with peroxide and shake the healing powder on 
raw parts or cracks daily, and the ear will speedily heal. Keep 
healing powder in a convenient shaker (old salt shaker.) 
Wounds and Injuries. 

In cases where the outer skin is badly torn, draw it to- 
gether with thread and one or two stitches. Bathe copiously 
with Peroxide of Hydrogen and keep clean. If the wound is 
where the dog's tongue can cleanse it and lap it continually, 
the healing will be complete and healthy, as there is no nurse 
so good an attendant to injured parts as a dog's tongue, and 
singularly enough Airedales will frequently cleanse a wound off 
one for the other and care for them most assiduously. It is 
best to let them be so treated. If wound is where dog cannot 
cleanse it, treat with Squib's Compound Alum Powder as di- 
rected in previous paragraph. 

Sore milk glands, in the brood matron, should be rubbed 
daily with camphorated oil, and treat a caked breast, if skin 
is broken, with "yellow salve" given in this chapter. 

Bowels. 

The intestinal tract is the seat of many ailments. One 
common to dogs is the fouling of stomach from stale or putrid 
food. This creates a condition similar to ptomaine poisoning 
and a dog becomes very weak, with loss of all appetite, fever 
generally present and drooling from the mouth. The treat- 
ment should be castor oil to physic, followed by 5-grain 
capsules (three times daily) of Bismuth and Salol, with Pape's 
Diuretic tablet morning and night. After two or three days 
of this treatment and the return of appetite, discontinue and 
feed broths and eggs until strength returns. 

Looseness of bowels and grayish feces are indicative of 
intestinal mal-assimilation of food. Give castor oil and then 



102 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



follow with tablets three times daily, compound of charcoal, 
bismuth and pepsin. Diet should be very plain and simple, 
until well; no solid foods. Salol is also a very good soothing 
remedy for inflamed bowel conditions, in 3-grain doses, three 
times daily. 

Salmon Poisoning. 

In the West, particularly in the Northwestern and Pacific 
Coast States, Airedales are exposed at times to what is termed 
"Salmoning," or a condition of the intestinal system brought 
about by eating stale raw salmon, which develops a ptomaine 
poisoning of the system, and is very dangerous to life, many 
hunting Airedales having succumbed to its frequent fatal re- 
sults. One who is hunting near salmon streams has his 
dogs exposed to it continually, as stale fish seems to be a very 
attractive ration to any dog. The first symptom to be watched 
for is a rather continued looseness of the bowels, loss of 
normal appetite and general weakness. The dog should be 
purged at once with castor oil, followed by a drench of fresh 
tallow, and then given every day at night for two or three 
days some good liver pill, or preferably calomel, two or three 
grains. Follow this with the use of charcoal, bismuth and 
pepsin tablets, or salol, bismuth and pepsin in capsules, three 
times daily. Feed beef tea. If treated by this method soon 
enough the dog's life may be saved, but if the last stages of 
virulent intestinal inflammation and continuous nausea have 
developed, there is little hope for a recovery, as the animal 
steadily sinks and nothing can seemingly stay the ravages of 
the disease. 

Prof. E. F. Pernot, M. S., State Bacteriologist for the 
Oregon State Board of Health, has made exhaustive experi- 
ments with numerous dogs affected by salmon poison, and a 
full detailed account of these experiments is published in a 
bulletin (Volume 5, No. 2), copies of which can be had by 
applying to Prof. E. F. Pernot, 1011 Selling Building, Portland, 
Oregon. As these experiments have been a most thorough 
scientific analysis of this disease, the following brief excerpts 
are quoted therefrom: 

"Trout and salmon trout are well known to be particularly 
virulent and the salmon after leaving the sea water and ascend- 
ing the fresh water streams become virulent after inhabiting 
fresh water for some time, but the salmon taken directly from 
the sea or salt water do not cause the disease when eaten by 
dogs. 

"A dog that has been well salmoned and recovers from the 
disease is immunized against subsequent attacks, as shown by 
the experiments with the dog 'Spottie.' This has been con- 
firmed by many owners of dogs, that if a salmoned dog re- 
covers from a severe attack of the disease, it never occurs 
again. 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 103 



"The first noticeable symptoms of this disease occurs in- 
variably nine days after the fish has been eaten. The dog 
becomes mopish, desires to lie down and refuses to take food. 
If the temperature be taken previous to appearance of symptom 
it first will be found to rise from normal to 101-102 P., to 
105.3 on the seventh day, gradually decreasing from the eighth 
day to sub-normal, where it remains slightly fluctuating until 
death, but never rising to the normal or maximum again. Dur- 
ing the course of low temperature the dog appears to be cold 
and curls up as if it were suffering with abdominal pains. No 
food is taken after the first symptoms appear, but there is a 
constant desire to drink which, if allowed, is followed by 
vomiting. 

"The most effective time for administering the calomel is 
about the third day after the first symptoms have been ob- 
served, or after the dog has appeared very sick and vomiting. 
Our experience has been that if the calomel is given in the last 
stages of the disease it causes intense suffering, owing to the 
highly inflamed condition of the intestines, and the dog being 
in such a weak, emanciated condition, usually dies from exhaus- 
tion in a short time. 

"The efficiency of calomel as a specific for salmon poison- 
ing has been repeatedly verified by dog owners. Reports have 
been received from the same owner of six recoveries out of 
eight cases, two of the dogs that died having other compli- 
cations." 

Some owners who hunt their dogs in salmon districts pin 
much faith to immunizing their dogs before exposure to trout 
or salmon streams, by feeding salmon and trout, together 
with plenty of fresh tallow. Some use bacon. The effect 
of this diet seems to be to lighten the influence of the disease 
on the dog's system, such that not unlike a dog's once having 
had a mild case of distemper, he is immune to further ex- 
posure to the contraction of it again. 

Whatever treatment is used, there seems to be a concensus, 
of opinion that fresh tallow or lard should be given, following 
purgatives. Quinine as a tonic daily is also beneficial. 

Fleas; How to Get Rid of Them. 

Fleas are said to be the medium for the spread of many 
ailments in dogs. If a dog is diseased the little flea is cer- 
tainly capable of being a germ carrier and can spread them 
around in lively fashion. It is therefore of utmost importance 
to keep the kennel free from their annoyance. It is a simple 
matter if one adopts the right method. Fleas thrive and breed 
freely in dusty bedding, dusty ground and dirty coats. Keep the 
kennels swept clean, and never allow the bedding to get old 
and dusty. In summer months, wash kennels out frequently 
and by sprinkling keep the ground from getting too dusty. If 
you notice your dog scratches much, examine his coat care- 
fully, particularly on the breast and groin, and if fleas are 



104 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



present, they are readily seen. Take the dog out of doors, on 
lead, and having secured him, use a cloth dipped in a cup of 
benzine or coal oil, rubbing the coat all over with it, being 
careful in young puppies not to wet the skin, and always being 
careful not to spill any into the dog's coat, as coal oil will at 
times injure the hair root follicles. Simply rubbing well over 
the outside of the coat will kill every flea. The dog should 
then be given a long run, allowed to roll in dust, given a 
swim or a good wash, comb the coat out or brush out when 
dry, as a dormant flea has a special aptitude for quickening 
its pulse. 

For dogs kept in a kennel yard (puppies and brood ma- 
trons), with a shoe dobbing brush, rub onto breast and groin, 
back of ears, base of neck and tail, crude petroleum, to which 
is added a little Carbolineum. This mixture is sticky stuff 
and keeps fleas away longer than other treatments and pre- 
vents their breeding and hatching. 

Kennel flooring should be kept powdered with fresh slacked 
lime and if planings are used for bedding, mix powdered lime 
iu with it. Fleas will not remain on floors frequently limed. 
Paint sleeping bench with crude petroleum and spray with 
Zenoleum. 

Goitre. 

The thyroid gland on either side of the larynx at times 
develops a painless swelling and enlargement called goitre, 
due to unnecessary exposure, to draughts or a dog's lying on 
cold and damp ground when his system is particularly sus- 
ceptible to taking cold. Puppies that are kept for the first 
month or two on a cold cement basement floor are pretty sure 
to develop goitre. There is generally little real danger from 
a goitre, except young puppies, but it is a serious blemish to a 
dog's appearance, when particularly noticeable. A slight 
goitre will generally be outgrown and absorb itself. The dog 
should be kept in the best of physical condition, purgatives 
given once or twice a week, and cod liver oil occasionally 
(every alternate day) is most helpful. Treatment: Shave 
neck and paint daily with tincture of iodine. Give daily the 
saturated solution of Iodide of Potash. Start with one drop 
and increase dose one drop daily until fifteen drops are given. 

Distemper. 

Fortunately as yet Airedales, as a breed, are not partic- 
ularly subject to this dread disease, which is so fatal in many 
other less sturdy and hardy breeds. Distemper exists in all 
countries, and appears generally in the spring and early fall 
months of the year. Authorities agree that it is not com- 
municable to man but is very contagious in dogs. Most author- 
ities agree that a dog need not have distemper, and the owner 
of a dog whose health has been carefully safeguarded in com- 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 105 



plying with the advice given previously herein need have little 
to fear from this malady, but should your dog contract it as 
Airedales at times do at shows (especially puppies), observe 
carefully the directions given in the following treatise on this 
disease: 

Distemper, at its inception, shows a disturbed and inflamed 
condition of the mucous membraneous tissues of the alimentary 
canal. Its first usual symptom is a hard bronchial cough, with 
some retching, irritated by excitement or nervousness, caused 
by the stomach's disturbed membraneous condition, as affected 
by the developing disease. 

The first thing to do when distemper is suspected and this 
cough appears, even if the dog is otherwise in apparently good 
health, is to confine the dog in some inside warm quarters, 
where air is good and floor dry. In being neglectful about 
confining the dog, when this bronchial trouble first develops, 
the owner is coupling up a lot of unnecessary trouble later on 
as the disease develops. Thinking because the dog is lively 
that this cough is nothing more than a slight throat irritation 
or cold is a serious mistake, especially if the dog is allowed 
to sleep out in all kinds of weather, which conditions soon 
develop acute bronchial troubles, generally pneumonia, and in 
most every case pneumonia is fatal in dog life. The next im- 
portant move is to administer vermifuge (especially to expel 
the tape worm if suspected), as the patient will be severely 
handicapped if the intestinal tract is not free from parasites. 

Distemper develops much more slowly than generally 
thought. The primary infection of the disease can be allayed 
by prompt and efficient attention, while the secondary infec- 
tions manifest themselves in different ways and develop condi- 
tions which may prove fatal. A dog is first noticed to be "off 
his feed." Soon the cough is noticed in the morning and at 
night. In a week or ten days' time his eyes likely begin to 
run and show a granulation and sticky discharge. The nose 
will in certain forms of the disease also discharge thick 
purulent yellow mucus. 

Much depends on a dog's natural robustness of health, as to 
what extent distemper will develop and advance in its various 
stages. If a dog is particularly strong and vigorous, he may 
be off his regulation diet for a few days and show no partic- 
ular signs of illnes, not even a cough, and though known to 
have been exposed to this contagion, is over it and immune, 
for all dogs once having had distemper seem to be forever im- 
mune to a second attack. When a dog reaches the mucus- 
discharge stage of the disease, the owner can expect a month 
or more of close confinement, involving regular nursing and 
careful attention. 

Isolation of the patient is of great importance, kept con- 
fined and free from any activity and excitement due to the 



106 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



company of other dogs, as fever is always present in distemper 
and the quieter the patient is kept the better. Be sure and do 
this when cough first appears, for if this first move is made 
promptly and faithfully adhered to, your dog will have but a 
mild case and thus be saved all of the deleterious effects of the 
ravages of the worse forms of the disease, and more than 
likely in a couple of weeks be over it. 

Treatment. 

The use of canine distemper virus is advisable if the as- 
sistance of a competent veterinarian is to be had. This is 
administered subcutaneously by means of any hypodermic 
syringe. Parke, Davis & Company issue an instructive pamph- 
let on Canine Distemper Vaccine both as a preventative and 
as a curative. This treatment is in accord with the present-day 
advancement in the scientific prevention of disease and its 
cure. While not a "sure cure," as records have shown the 
mortality to have been 21.9 per cent, this treatment is to be 
commended. 

If at first the dog is seemingly prostrated, one good dose 
of castor oil is a helpful beginning, followed by liver pills. 
If the dog refuses food for a couple of days, it will do him no 
harm whatever to let him go without food. The early stages 
of this disease are accompanied by such intestinal conditions 
that food is a real menace to the dog's condition. Do not 
urge or force food. His natural hunger and desire for food is 
the best indication of when his system is in fit shape to 
receive it. 

As soon as the dog begins to show unmistakable signs of 
the symptoms of distemper cited, and has been tied up, begin 
giving daily the following tablet, which will allay the worst 
tendencies of the disease, and often in themselves effect a com- 
plete recovery: Compound tablet, bismuth, charcoal and 
pepsin (or capsules, salol 9 gr., bismuth 10 gr., and pepsin 
3% gr.), obtainable from any druggist. Give pups one each, 
three or four times daily, and grown dogs two tablets three 
times daily. Their effect is in the way of soothing the in- 
flamed intestinal parts, removing the toxine poisons and to 
assist the weakened condition of food digestion and assimila- 
tion. 

The writer has found in his personal experience this plan 
of treatment dependable and if the vaccine method is not 
available or used, successful recoveries will be attained by 
adhering rigidly to these directions, for Airedales decently 
cared for in healthy, warm quarters, very rarely succumb to 
this disease, or are sick more than a few days. 

In distemper the feces are usually greenish, rank and 
strong smelling, indicating a decidedly unhealthy condition of 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 10Y 



the bowels, in the cause of which both stomach indigestion and 
lack of intestinal digestion or mal-assimilation share. This 
condition, if allowed to remain without care, results in the 
ulcerous and intestinal form of the disease which commonly 
develops when owners are too anxious to keep their dog eating 
good rich food. There is no necessity for this form of the 
disease ever developing, and it is one of the worst forms of 
the disease, when advanced, and in many cases ends fatally. 
The capsules or tablets above described will soothe and tone 
up the inflamed intestinal condition and make a dog's appetite 
for food good again, and gradually bring about the conditions 
which permit healthy, well-formed feces. When this is accom- 
plished, more than half the battle is fought and won, and 
the use of salol and bismuth or charcoal should then be limited. 
As long as a dog is running off in a diarrhetic condition, the 
distemper germ seems to thrive, and is capable of producing 
all sorts of gastrical and intestinal troubles which are very 
difficult to cure. 

Diet. 

The best diet for puppies and for mature dogs that refuse 
their regular food, during distemper, and are loose in the 
bowels, is boiled milk. 

In feeding give a sick dog simple but nourishing food in 
moderate quantity, the aim being to keep up the strength. 
Cod liver oil daily is good when convalescent; also fresh beef 
cut fine on bread and egg-nogs when the patient is very weak 
Avoid alcoholic stimulants, except in the last stages of the 
disease. 

If the patient becomes much weakened by the ravages of 
the disease, and is in need of a good daily tonic, give quinine. 
Puppies one grain twice daily and grown dogs two grains daily. 
Quinine should be given sparingly to dogs of high-strung and 
nervous temperaments. The object in general is to sufficiently 
bolster up the weakened organism in order that it may suc- 
cessfully throw off the accumulating toxine poisons which per- 
meate the system. After the salol or bismuth capsules have 
shown good results, it is well to stimulate the kidneys, espe- 
cially if the cough is continuous. The use of Papes Diuretic 
tablets will be found beneficial in cleansing the system. 

Should a dog have developed the purulent mucus-discharge 
or acute bronchial stages before treatment as recommended 
herein has been followed, lose no time in making a beginning, 
and if the conditions are serious, secure the aid of a competent 
veterinary, preferably one who has had some experience in 
canine practice. While it is possible to direct the care of the 
advanced stages of the disease, those inexperienced in the care 
and treatment of a very sick dog would become discouraged 
before the period of the disease had half expired, for a dog 



108 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



once down with distemper added to which pneumonia has set 
in, and virulent membraneous discharges, is going to be a very 
sick dog for a month or two. 

When the nasal passages are badly clogged up with mucus, 
spray with an atomizer twice daily, using peroxide of hydrogen 
or oil of eucalyptus. 

A dog rarely ever dies from distemper per se. The com- 
plications which develop in the weakened system are invari- 
ably the direct cause of death. 

A blanket sewed onto the patient that shows sign of 
quick breathing and pneumonia is a necessary aid. Poulticing 
is excellent, especially with antiphygistene. 

Don't pour food down a sick dog, when he hasn't ability 
to either hold or digest it. It only makes him worse. 

Don't exercise a distemper patient. 

Don't get anxious if your dog does not eat for two days. 
It is better for him not to. He won't die of starvation. 

Don't allow him to get his feet wet. 

Don't wash a dog when convalescent from distemper, no 
matter how foul he may be. Powder him with flour or Fuller's 
Earth. Brush, comb and clean. 

Don't give your dog his liberty as soon as he begins to 
feel better. Keep him there until well. A relapse is sometimes 
fatal. 

The writer has found the mortality practically nil in his 
own experience in caring for Airedales during distemper as 
here recommended. 

Chorea. 

This malady (similar to St. Vitus dance) is a condition 
brought on by an impaired system, affecting the nervous organ- 
ism, and its first symptoms are uncontrollable twitchings of 
the muscles of the limbs, jaw or skull beats. It is generally 
the consequence of distemper, where the individual has had a 
long and hard siege of it, and the constitution much under- 
mined. Bathing or even a chill from wetting of feet in a 
convalescent dog from distemper will at times bring it on. 
Any treatment is far from yielding satisfactory results. In 
cases where its attack but slightly inconveniences the dog, 
general tonic and stimulative treatment will help its control, 
but in severe cases it is more humane to chloroform the suf- 
ferer, or give small capsule of Prussic Acid, which is a hu- 
mane method of ending a life of constant suffering or 
weakness. .*, | I 

Dew-Claws. I ! flll^ 

Dew-claws or a superfluous claw attached to inside of 

hocks or pastern by skin or loose tissues are sometimes found 

on Airedales as in other breeds. They should be clipped off 



DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 109 



close to the hock as soon as discovered with a pair of sharp 
scissors or wire cutters. 

Naval Hernia. 

This is a protrusion of the intestine at the navel opening 
of the abdominal wall, and is of the nature of a rupture, though 
never seemingly to seriously affect the dogs' physical condi- 
tion or hunting ability. If but a small protrusion it is well 
enough to let it alone, and nature seems to form a bit denser 
skin protection over it. If the protrusion is large enough to 
be a menace to the dog's health, have a veterinary surgeon 
operate, which operation is a simple one, it being necessary 
to put the intestine back in place and put one or two stitches 
in the abdominal wall opening, which soon heals. Hernia is 
commonly found in dogs, and seems to be an inheritance. 
Prolapsus of the Vagina. 

This is a falling down or protrusion of the inner walls 
and is caused by a strain at or previous to the breeding season 
of a bitch. Some pack the walls back into place with ab- 
sorbent cotton, and when the protrusion is very bad, an ope- 
ration by a veterinary surgeon is advisable, but in ordinary 
cases the following will be found to be entirely successful: 
Insert daily, soluble capsules (six or eight grains) of com- 
pound alum. This puckers the membraneous tissues, and 
assists the muscle tissues in re-establishing their natural state. 
Parts should be pushed back into place daily. 

Table of Doses. 

The following table of doses of some of the principal drugs 
will be valuable for occasional reference: 

Castor Oil, y 2 to 2 oz., as a laxative, the best "first aid" 
reliance. 

Syrup of Buckthorn, % to 2 oz., as a laxative. 

Epsom Salts, 1 to 4 drachms, as a laxative. 

Powdered Sulphur, 1 to 3 drachms, as a laxative, given in 
milk or mollases, or both. 

Calomel, 2 to 4 grains, followed by salts twelve hours later. 

Areca Nut (powdered), 1 to 2 grains for each one pound 
dog weighs, best given in molasses or cooking oil and milk, 
or white of an egg, followed by castor oil two hours later, 
or salts. 

Santonin, 1 to 5 grains. For puppies, 1 to 3 grains two 
or three times a day for two days, then follow with castor oil. 
For removal of round worms. (Combined with calomel it is 
very effective). 

Extract of Male Fern, 10 to 30 drops, always in oil. Very 
powerful remedy for tape worm, use sparingly, and followed 
by castor oil. 



110 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



Oil of Turpentine, 10 to 3 drops, given with same pre- 
caution as Male Pern, in capsules with 5 drops Creolin. 

Thymol: A reliable expeller of all intestinal parasites. 
Dose for puppies, 2 grains in capsules. Grown dogs 5 grains 
in capsules, always followed by salts. 

Sulphate of Quinine, 1 to 2 grains, as a tonic. 

Salicylate of Sodium, 5 to 15 grains; valuable remedy in 
acute rheumatism. 

Subnitrate of Bismuth or Salol, 3 to 10 grains; useful in 
gastritis and dysentery; given in combination in 5-grain 
capsules. 




Champion Illuminator 



CHAPTER IX. 



SHOWING AIREDALES. 

s- - """ . Dog shows will always be one of 

the most important functions for 
/.'■—,. \ *& -^ which a dog's career is planned, be. 

dJJJSlfl^ v< ^f^Hk cause they so largely benefit his 
§|k usefulness, in bringing the individ- 
V Bp?N, n ual's merits into competition before 

K^SB&a»L^ * H tlae P UD H C ' making it thus possible 
Ra^P^sgiKj H to esta blish a widely known and ad- 
I vertised fame and reputation, in- 
M~ i£r I creas i n § his appreciable value, and 

w furnishing to all fanciers and breed- 
BHv ^jfr InSf ers an annua l incentive in a con- 
MJHJI-^nSF tinual chain of public competitions 
Br and show fixtures, that incite con- 
WB stantly increasing ambitions, which 
8p steadily enhance a breed's welfare. 

**"^0& BP*^ The public generally are most inter- 

ested in what they can see and study according to their own 
notions. In the realm of trade the display window is the most 
important equation for a succesful merchant. The best of 
anything, if kept out of sight, does not get its due recognition 
and commensurate value, for public interest must be stimu- 
lated by a free acquaintance and knowledge in the personal 
seeing and inspection of what attracts. It is therefore incum- 
bent on one interested in the success of any breed of dogs to 
exhibit same at every possible opportunity, and not keep what 
are considered to be good ones at home. 

Airedale fanciers have so far shown an increasing and 
commendable interest in bringing their favorite breed before 
the public eye each year since they were first shown in any 
number in America. While as early as 1881 in a rough-haired 
terrier class, Airedales were shown by M. C. H. Mason and 
Mr. Harry W. Lacy, pioneer importers of the breed, they were 
not taken hold of and exhibited much at shows until the late 
nineties, but since then and for the past decade Airedale classes 
at all the leading shows throughout the country have taken 
their place among the principal breeds exhibited, until at 
present nearly one hundred of the breed are annually shown 
at the largest show, that of the Westminster Kennel Club. 
New York, and as evidence of Airedales becoming the leading 
breed in America the present registration of Airedales exceed 
other breeds in number except Boston Terriers, and they seem 



112 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



to be overtaking the Bostons steadily. It was in 1898 that this 
show first opened classes for the breed. In England the Aire- 
dale has been a popular and prominent show breed. As early 
as 1875, V. Shaw speaks of their being shown at local shows, 
and at the present day the breed maintains its hold on public 
favor and support in large entries at all principal shows. It 
is this kind of interest that continually tends to popularize a 
breed, as the public interest is kept alive and keenly awake to 
the standard merits shown in the competition of notable dogs, 
whose ranks are replenished each year with new and famous 
imported winners and American-bred celebrities. 

Airedale fanciers cannot lend their individual aid in any 
more effective manner toward steadily keeping the breed to the 
front before the American public, than by losing no opportunity 
of exhibiting dogs at shows within reach, not with an idea of 
carrying off prizes, but to swell the number of dogs exhibited 
so that the breed will have a creditable showing. It is sur- 
prising what an interest in the breed is created at every show, 
in which a good entry is made. There is always a first time 
for everyone to become acquainted with the breed's attractive 
characteristics, and <at a public show such experiences and 
converts are common and most beneficial to one and all inter- 
ested fanciers in steadily enlarging the field of the breed's 
popularity. 

Registering. 

Before entering a dog for exhibition at any show one 
should have the dog registered in the Kennel Club of the 
country under whose auspices the show is given. This is a 
simple matter and needs but a request by mail to have a regis- 
tration blank mailed to the owner, who in turn copies down 
the pedigree and other information desired about the dog's 
breeding and returns it for entry in the Stud Book, on the pay- 
ment of a usual fee of $1.00. The number of the registration 
is then mailed to the owner in form of a certificate. The 
registering of a dog is most beneficial independent of showing 
a dog, in that the registry always preserves a record of one's 
breeding for reference and gives a kennel a reputation of hav- 
ing recognized and registered stock, regarding the genuineness 
of which there can be no future question or doubt. 

When a dog's breeding has once been registered, the loss 
of the owner's copy of pedigree is easily replaced by sending 
for a certified copy of the same from the Stud Book records. 
There is increased stability in the appearance of any pedigree 
in which the greater portion of the dogs named are shown to 
be registered dogs. The requirements for registration vary 
with the different stud books, some requiring three known 
generations and others four known generations of ancestry 
and certificates from the owners of sire and dam at the time 



SHOWING AIREDALES 113 



of mating, certifying to the correctness of the pedigree claimed. 
In order to exhibit a dog at a show given under the auspices 
of the American Kennel Club it is necessary to register (or 
list) a dog in A. K. C. Stud Book. This is the oldest stud book 
record in America, having registered nearly 275,000 dogs up 
to January, 1920. Other stud book records and registrations 
are kept by the Canadian Kennel Club, the Field Dog Stud 
Book, and United Kennel Club. 

When wishing to register an Airedale in either one of these 
stud books, write the Secretary, asking for registration blanks, 
addressing 

Secretary American Kennel Club, 221 Fourth Avenue, New 
York City. 

Secretary Canadian Kennel Club, Toronto, Canada. 

Secretary Field Dog Stud Book, Masonic Temple, Chicago, 
Illinois. 

United Kennel Club, 3410 Beach Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. 

A very useful form of registration is that furnished by 
the United Kennel Club, especially for owners not particularly 
interested in exhibiting Airedales at shows, in which event 
registration in club under whose auspices show is held is 
desirable. For those not id the show game, the U. K. Club 
furnishes a dependable form of registration at the nominal 
cost of 25 cents each, and registers each puppy in a litter for 
tin- total of $1.00 per litter. Its system certificates and 
certified pedigrees are all that can be desired. 

Conditioning. 

In preparing an Airedale for exhibition at any show one 
should make a start soon enough to have the advantage of all 
favorable conditions. An Airedale is naturally an easy dog to 
condition for a show. In order that he may be shown in ex- 
cellent form, exercise and good feeding are essential. A show 
dog should not be heavy in flesh but hard in muscle, the result 
of outdoor exercise. Swimming in salt water brings the coat 
into excellent condition. Except for one good cleaning wash, 
do not wash an Airedale in preparing him for show. The 
coat should be combed out carefully and brushed with a 
good stiff coarse brush every day for a month or six weeks 
before a show. This removes the dead or old coat and brings 
out in sharp relief the new coat. Mix flax seed meal in with 
food for two weeks before show, or if eggs are plentiful, 
ad' these (raw) to the dog's diet, and the coat will glisten 
with a sparkle most attractive in appearance. The coat should 
be cleaned out and brushed with Fuller's Earth, especially 
each day at a show and previous thereto. 

Trimming. 

The special preparation of the coat to materially improve 
the dog's typical appearance is called trimming, and is uni- 



114 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



versally practiced and recognized as necessary to place the dog 
in competition in suitable shape, to have his individual type 
appear to best advantage. It is a simple process and needs 
but a little study and experience for anyone to become adept 
at it. In England and at all the leading American shows, ter- 
riers are put down in competition trimmed to various stages 
of perfection. Some are overdone, but the majority are greatly 
improved in their sbow appearance by it. The aim is to remove 
the rough edges in full-coated dogs, especially about the head 
and neck. Briefly, to properly trim an Airedale, pluck with 
thumb and finger the skull from eye-brows back to neck, also 
long coat of neck, cheeks, neck fringe or frill and under the 
jaw out to about half way from the flews to muzzle. By 
plucking is meant the removing of the outer coat, a little at 
a time, leaving the under coat smooth and uniform in texture. 
This should be done some days before a show, and edges of 
joining with body coat evened up. The idea is to show the 
excellent type of head in an Airedale, exaggerating in appear- 
ance a bit the length of the head, with a full, wide fore-face 
and depth of jaw, which the whiskers left in place emphasize. 
In place of plucking with thumb and finger, plucking-combs 
can be used, or clippers, but one must be an expert with their 
use to trim neatly and not too much, as a cut coat does not 
look well. Never use scissors on an Airedale's coat. Old 
coat and fluff is removed readily by using a piece of a band 
saw. One strip (cut) makes six or eight good stripping combs, 
at a trifling cost. A full-coated Airedale, in order to be 
shown in attractive coat, should be stripped of the outer coat 
two or three months before a show, giving the new coat a 
good growth by show time. Clipping the body coat is not 
advisable, as it tends to strengthen the growth of any tend- 
ency to fluff in a coat. 

While under certain show rules there is a disposition to 
penalize trimming, the intent is seemingly to bar faking, which 
in England crept into the show-game, in the dyeing of coats 
to a desired color, etc. Legitimate plucking and trimming is 
now recognized as an aim to improve the dog's show appear- 
ance, much after the accepted custom of humanity preferring 
to have the benefit of the accepted and conventional neatness 
of a barber's skill, rather than allow nature's tendencies to go 
uncurbed. No deception of importance is possible in legiti- 
mate trimming before the experienced eye of an accredited 
terrier judge, as the general type of dog is undisturbed and a 
dog of poor type, even if well trimmed, cannot win against a 
better type, either inadequately trimmed or not trimmed at all. 
Diet and elbow grease are the best conditioners of a naturally 
good coat. 



SHOWING AIREDALES 



115 





Champions of Both Continents 

(1) Champion Master Royal. (2) Champion York Sceptre. 



116 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 

Showing and Handling. 

The preparing of a dog for good manners when being shown 
in the ring at a show is something that needs much attention. 
The individual should have been early accustomed to lead 
freely and strongly, pulling well, associating pleasure and 
action with the idea of being led, and when desired, accustomed 
to stand eargerly at attention. Snapping the finger or some- 
thing thrown, or the scent of a piece of well-cooked liver, are 
good aids to get the attention desired, having the dog ac- 
customed when not moving to stand facing handler on loose 
lead, alert and watchful of motions of the free hand of handler. 
Many a real good typy dog has failed to win simply because he 
is a poor mover and shower in the ring, being unaccustomed 
to what is wanted in making him appear well. The more 
action and life a dog exhibits while on lead, the better he will 
appear in the ring, as a judge can only judge of what he sees 
at the time and can't give undue allowance for what imaginary 
good points the dog might have to show, if better handled. 
The ears are important, and the dog should be accustomed to 
holding them well up in attentive position. His legs and feet 
should be kept in uniform and typical position, head and neck 
well up always. Most important of all, bear in mind in 
handling a dog in the show ring, that it is the dog that is 
being shown to best advantage and nothing else. Keep the 
dog you are handling always in full view of the eyes of the 
judge, as he is there to get a critical estimate of the dog in a 
very brief space of time and wishes to see all he can of him 
and in constant comparison with others in competition, so if 
the dog is behind the handler or another dog and not at all 
times in good position to show his type off to favorable ad- 
vantage, the dog is materially handicapped. A good habit to 
get into is to keep the dog always between the handler and 
the judges, no matter in what part of the ring you are placed. 
A good handler rarely ever takes his eye off the dog he is 
handling until the awards are distributed. Give the dog all 
the help you can, as he may need it, and always accept a 
favorable or unfavorable decision by the judge with equanim- 
ity, as being the honest conviction of his judgment, and if not 
quite pleasing, try again under some other judge at another 
show. The awards at a dog show are, after all, but one man's 
judgment on the dogs in competition, and while one judge 
may have much public reputation as a judge and accepted 
authority, the best of them at times overlook something good 
and make mistakes, as human nature is the same everywhere 
and not infallible. By the time the dog has been passed upon 
by three or four different judges in varying competition at 
different shows, the owner will know to a certainty the limita- 
tions and winning capacity of his entry, and will have learned 



SHOWING AIREDALES 



117 




118 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 

much as to type and comparative merits in the breed exhibited, 
if inclined to be a close observer. 

The care of a dog at a show is an important matter and one 
which if neglected is liable to bring on troublesome ailments. 
The tendency is to feed altogether too much, in view of the 
necessary confinement on chain in the stall. Meat is com- 
monly fed to dogs not accustomed to it. It is better to feed 
only one moderate meal, at night, when things begin to quiet 
down a bit, and give water sparingly (but twice daily) as it 
only makes a dog uncomfortable, when not at liberty. Exer- 
cise regularly, and keep your dog on chain even when exercis- 
ing, to avoid accident. The Airedale is capable of taking care 
of himself well enough, but precaution is advisable. The 
constant tugging at collar and chain, due to excitement from 
the passing public and dogs, tests to the utmost the strength 
of kennel fastenings. Be certain that your dog has a 
collar that will not slip or part, and a good strong swivel 
chain, with fastenings at both ends. The dog on bench should 
be tied short enough to prevent fighting with dog in adjoining 
stall, and to avert jumping off bench, and hanging. Many a 
dog has been lost permanently by negligence of the owner in 
not carefully observing these necessary provisions. 

Champion Airedales. 

The title of "Champion," the highest honor and distinguish- 
ment in a show-dog's career, is awarded to dogs that are suc- 
cessful enough in their show days to make the necessary win- 
nings. In England at certain of the larger shows, the E. K. 
C. awards a Champion Certificate to the winning dog and 
bitch. Before a dog gains the title he must win the Champion- 
ship Certificate three times. Under the American and Cana- 
dian Kennel Club rules, a dog must be the winner in the 
Winners' Class enough times to win a total of fifteen (A. K. C.) 
and ten (C. K. C.) Championship points, before being recorded 
as a Champion. The number of points allotted to each show 
is regulated by the total number of exhibits and the section 
of the country in which a show is held, the aim being to have 
the character of competition govern, the larger the show, the 
more Champion points allowed. 

A dog that has gained the title of Champion is to be 
regarded as a dog having possessed in exhibition form superior 
standard type of the breed and as such a valuable asset in 
ancestral lineage. 

While Champions do not dependably beget Champions in 
breeding, it is noteworthy that many of the famous Champion 
sires have become sires of Champions as well. A Champion 
stud naturally is mated to more bitches of superior merit than 
other good sires, and thus has favored opportunities to pro- 



SHOWING AIREDALES 



119 



duce stock of merit. The following Champions sired dogs 
that became Champions to the number indicated: 

Clonmel Monarch (9), Master Briar (5), Crompton Oorang 
(5), York Masterpiece (4), Bolton Woods Briar (4), Red 
Raven (3), Rock Salt (3), The New King (3), Endcliffe Crack 
(3), Matlock Bob (2), The Gamecock (2), Crompton Performer 
(2), Master Royal (2), Rockley Oorang (2), Midland Royal 
(1). 

On the other hand, many notable sires that were not them- 
selves Champions proved their prepotent value in type, in that 
their get became Champions. For example: 

Elruge Monarch was the sire of 5 Champions, Odsal Crack 
(4), Crompton Marvel (4), Floriform (3), Wyndhill Vandal 
(3), Rock Ferry Test (2), Hindman Briar (2), Briarwood (2), 
Briar Test (2). 




The Hunting Pack 

Cobb and his Airedales in the mountains of Montana. 



120 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



AIREDALE CHAMPIONS 



List of Airedales that have been awarded the title of 
Champion, for having made the required number of "wins" 
at dog shows held under the auspices of either the Kennel 
Club of England, the American Kennel Club or the Canadian 
Kennel Club. 

(In revising this list to 1919, the author wishes to ac- 
knowledge the valuable assistance of Mr. Nelson H. Acheson, 
of Seattle, and Mr. Geo. H. Dieust, of Denver). 



Abbey King Nobbier 161928 

Abreeorn Gold Edge 

Adios Tempest 151264 

Afton Queen Oorang 191589 

Aireshire Lad 110096 

Alban Lass 407-P 

Almonte Peggy Can. 

Arthington Tinner 1266-0 

Attleborough Lassie 

Auckland Lucky Stone 10808 

Babs 121996 

Bachelors Boy Can. 

Bachelors Masterpiece Can. 

Barkerend Lillian 55695 

Baughfell Briar 169935 
Beau Bell Scrapper 

Bilmer Bingo 182455 

Bilmer Fol de Rol 226017 

Bingley Blossom 165195 

Birchcliffe Oorang Can. 

Bolton Woods Blossom 79338 

Bolton Woods Briar 76088 

Bolton Woods Rush 381-R 

Bothwell Sorceress 151862 

Briars Masterpiece 109205 

Brickfield Molly 170256 

Briergate Bright Beauty 224419 

Briergate Bright Light 184247 

Briergate Rex Persaltum 197791 

Broadland's Bashful 1270-C 
Broadland's Royal Descendant 

1667-E 
Brush 

Buck's Sunflower 91309 

Caerphilly Performer 1627-S 

Cherry Tree Queen 203799 

Chesney Cherry Circle 197082 

Cholmondeley Briar 32967 

Clonmel Bedrock 1003-E — 100376 
Clonmel Cadet 157413 

Clonmel Chorister A121994 — 323-E 
Olonmel Command 147087 

Clonmel Coronation 100377 

Clonmel Imperious 257-R — 156304 
Clonmel Isonomy 147088 

Clonmel Kitty 984-B 

Clonmel Marvel 985-B — 51612 

Clonmel Master Magic 

379-S — 165589 
Clonmel Mesalliance 137076 

Clonmel Monarch 355-E — 61021 
Olonmel Rough and Ready 142460 



Colne Hedgley Flicker 126501 

Colne Lucky Baldwin 71660 
Colne Nut Brown Maiden 8242 

Colne Walton Flyaway 8243 

Courtland Isabel 104014 

Oourtland Kitty 104015 
C'rofton Chum 380-S — 198921 

Crompton Almida 1592-J 

Orompton Oorang 1591-J 

Crompton Performer 638-L 

Culmington Nettle 562-M 

Culmington Vixen 445-N 

Columbus 9108 

Dany Craig Commander 311-P 

Dany Craig King 671-L 

Dargle Deputy 382-S 
Delph Girl 73252— 1251-G 

Derrvfield Nell 120492 

Dunbarton Lass 60636 

Dunbarton Rattler 234-J 

Dunbarton Sceptre 1261-H 

Dunbarton Sunflower 1262-H 

Elms Primus 224431 

El Sur Roseben 158917 

Endcliffe Commander 135910 

Endcliffe Crack 92029 

Endcliffe Radiance 112107 

Endcliffe Victoria 115116 

Farleigh Mikado 80680 

Felday Countess S41-Q 

Felden Flower Girl 633-L 

Ferryhill Flyer 93-R 

Flo 106310 

Flornell Oorang 223-R 
Freeman Terror 539-M — 134384 

Geelong Cadet 184608 

Gold Heels 159572 

Greystone Growler 10895 

Harry Jones 117843 

Hasting's Clipper 54761 

Hasting's Mona 54763 

Heathcote Enchantress 196785 

Hedgeley Flare 131158 

Hedgley Flash 119486 

Hedgeley Flicker 126501 

Highgate Kitty 69791 

Highgate Kitty Jr. 107518 

His Highness 173807 

Huckleberry Lass 1393-J 



AIREDALE CHAMPIONS 



121 



Illuminator 


295-N 


Red Sunlight 


79555 


Ingafieid Wild Rose 


116679 


Ridgecote Anticipation 


114097 


Ingaflora 


98395 


Riding Master 


122108 






Rhosddu Royalist 260731 


— 258-V 


Judge Dexter 


124044 


Rock King 


132-J 






Rockley Oorang 


452-N 


Kenmare Caprice 


190316 


Rock Prince 


69790 


Kenmare Conjuror 


183580 


Rock Salt 


1347-D 


Kenmare Sorceress 


144241 


Rockferry Vixen 


1345-D 


Killarney Christmas Bells 


Can. 


Rover III 


13825 


Killarney Marion 


Can. 


Rowsley Regina 


93991 


Killarney Regent 


Can. 


Royal Regent 


1582-J 


Killarney Tittle Tattle 


Can. 


Rustic Kitty 




King Nobblers Double 








15442- 
King Oorang 
Kirks Patricia 
Kismet Flashlight 
Kismet Rockferry Poundei 
Kootenai Chinook 
Kootenai Firebrand 
Kootenai Radiance 


-190S52 
147494 

&3G61 

• 8301S 
160417 
166013 
137S31 


Sandown Deiph Girl 
Scamp Rock Oorang 
Selil's Debutante 
Silver Birch Banker 
Sitting Bull 
Soo Floradora 
Soudan Stamboul 
Soudan Swiveller 


73252 
168644 
138586 
Can. 
119580 
178783 
151449 
150891 


Lady Alice 
Lady Tempest 
Lake-Dell Damsel 
Lance Corporal Smythe 




Springbrook Diamond 


455-N 


72291 

77183 

131381 

526-M 


Springbrook Sceptre 
Springbank Sunshine 
Sweet Moreen 


149988 
394-R 
682-L 


Lancroft's Dawn 


154603 






Larchmere Bittersweet 


120014 


Tanglewood Una 


115895 


Larchmere Flashlight 


120913 


Thayerdale Tenny 


134096 


Larchmere Mistress Magnet 135096 


The Gamecock 


99702 


Larchmere Surprise 


132934 


The Marchioness 


104222 


Legram's Lass 




The New King 


65826 


Legram's Prince 


104-G 


The Norseman 


121995 


Legram's Princess 


1269-H 


Tintern Tip Top 


203798 


Lillian Jones 


117845 


Tintern Royalist 432-P- 


-135457 


Longhill Doris 


127317 


Tommv Tucker II 




Longhill Peggy 


109178 


Tone Chief 


1601-J 






Tone Crack 


1350-D 


Majestic 


11747 


Tone Jerry 


1825-C 


Master Briar 


1261-B 


Tone Masterpiece 


1165-E 


Master Royal 




Tone Regent 


1679-F 


93908-A — 1271-H— 


C. K. C. 






Matlock Bote 


117733 


Unexpected 


147086 


McOonnell's Queen 


158312 






Midland Master G. 


Can. 


Vickery Aman Gem 


212612 


Midland Royal 


1606-J 


Vickery Rainbow 


180387 


Miss Masterpiece 


1274-H 


Vickery Soubrette 


168293 


Mistress Royal 


133-J 


Vickery Vesta 


156188 


Motor Dace 


111707 


Vixen III 




Normanton Tipit 


220392 


Watland's Marvel 


118-M 






Wissahicken Chief 


122107 


Oakwell Monarch 




Woodman Doll 


49-N 


Otley Chevin 


1281-C 


Wyndhill Diana 


99703 






Wyndhill Tackle 


88887 


Pilgrim Yellow Jacket 


126411 


Wynton Tyke 


104056 


Polam Maxim 


238029 






Polam Milkmaid 


177237 


York Master Key 


183701 


Prince Hal 


85612 


York Masterpiece 


80148 


Prince of York 


144287 


York Ryburn Swell 


184814 


Princess Royston Tess 


103713 


York Sceptre 


80150 






York The Conqueror 


85935 


Queen of Lyons 


182208 


York The Haymaker 


124409 






York the Hayseed 


93784 


Rebound Oorang 




York Victoria 


91704 


Red Raven 


105646 


Young King Nobbier 


174664 



122 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




CHAPTER X. 



AIREDALES VS. HOUNDS. 

Hunting the larger game animals with dogs will always 
be keenly attractive to sportsmen the world over. Its rec- 
reation takes one into an environment that no other sport 
offers, as the hunter's life is at all times imbued with the 
splendors of nature in their primeval state. For centuries 
back mankind has been prone to hunt wild game, and as civil- 
ization has advanced, the development of the instincts of 
hunting dogs to a high state of perfection has been note- 
worthy. "Following the hounds" has been a sport for Royalty 
and gentry alike. In the pursuit of wild game animals in 
America, the assistance of dogs is a necessity, for in thick 
timber, brush lands and mountainous regions still hunting 
could avail but little, and more than half the sport is in follow- 
ing the varying experiences of a good bunch of hunting dogs, 
with its inspiring language, as constantly in vogue, through the 
barking of the pack when on trail, or giving tongue as it is 
termed. All who have once had the good fortune to hunt big 
game with Airedales, with or without hounds, know what 
an inspiring outing it is. It has for the most part now come 
to be a matter of taking the dogs to likely districts for the 
finding of game, and then when they take the trail in full 
cry keep within hearing distance, and from experience in asso- 
ciation with one's dogs know what sort of game is being fol- 
lowed, and when it is at bay. It requires great physical en- 
durance on the part of the hunter as well as the dogs and oft- 
times great exposure. Big game when pursued by dogs is 
rarely dangerous, for the constant worrying gameness of the 
dogs gives the pursued animals no time for offensive tactics. 
Bear and cougar when close pressed seek refuge in either dense 
thickets or tall trees, bob-cats and coons likewise. Grizzlies 
and the Kodiak bear of Alaska are exceptions to this disposi- 
tion, but are very successfully hunted with dependable dogs, 
that do not flinch and are capable of keeping out of harm's 
way. In fact, the only safe method of hunting the most 
dangerous of the bear species is to have two or three trusty 
Airedales to keep the animal so much occupied that the 
hunter has ample opportunity to place a fatal shot. While 
hunters differ in their ideas as to whether it is best to hunt 
Airedales with hounds or by themselves, the concensus of 
opinion seems to be to have the "mixed pack." When there 
are more than three or four Airedales in a hunting pack, say 
eight or ten Airedales, the Airedale are included to develop 



12 4 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



too much courage and with their keenness for the encounters 
do not show their usual caution in keeping out of harm's way, 
such that the younger and smaller dogs get injured more fre- 
quently than when the proportion of Airedales is less. The 
influence of hounds seems to hold the ardor of Airedales in 
check, and with two or three good hounds in a pack, Aire- 
dales do their work most satisfactorily. 

There is a marked difference in the temperaments of the 
hound as contrasted with the Airedale, which is shown in 
their behavior over big game that has been killed. Hounds are 
easily whipped off from the scramble over their prey and most 
any sign of force is sufficient to get hounds off, when they 
cease to have much further interest in the game killed. One 
can't go into a bunch of Airedales that are pulling and hauling 
on a bear or cougar and scold and whip them off so easily. In 
fact they are better handled by an entirely different method. 
Their intense game blood is aroused by such a situation to the 
point of great and almost uncontrollable excitement. If the 
hunter gets in among them and diverts them by talking to 
them, it is the easier method to separate and quiet them to 
normal condition again. Using force on an Aidedale or several 
of them when in this high state of nervous excitement is a bit 
dangerous, as young dogs are prone to be most jealous. 

There has been much public discussion of the relative 
merits of Airedales vs. Hounds in respect to their comparative 
ability in the matter of trailing and hunting big game. Most 
of the arguments and disputes which have been published on 
the subject have been engendered by some fancier making too 
big a claim for the Airedale. Those who breed and know the 
Airedale and hunt continually with them, know his full capa- 
bilities, and also his limitations, and are the first to disclaim 
the sometimes expressed public belief that the Airedale as a 
hunting dog is more of a Hound than anything else. 

The difference between the character of the Airedale and 
that of the Hound is such a wide and distinct one that it seems 
needless to go very deeply into the subject, and yet the strik- 
ing characteristics may be briefly stated with interest to some 
who wish information on this very inquiry, "How does the 
Airedale as a hunter and trailer compare with the Hound?" 

The Hound is essentially a trailer, and little more. He is 
by build not constituted to be an aggressive fighter, though 
there are hounds that are, but these are generally not the 
pure-bred article. In fighting at close quarters, apart from 
their lack of cleverness in knowing how to successfully tackle 
quick and effectively, they are exposed to undue punishment 
by the shortness of their coat and its lack of protection, and 
also their long pendulous ears are exposed to frequent tears 
and bad usage. Quickness in encounters they usually lack, as 
they are naturally slow in motion, and their best service is 



AIREDALES VS. HOUNDS 12 5 

centered in the unfailing use of wonderful scenting powers. 
There are experienced hounds that will work out for the 
hunter trails which may be proved to be two or three days 
old. Such work is essentially the Hound's work, and not that 
of the Airedale. 

On the other hand, all hunters of wild animals, both small 
and large, before the advent of the Airedale, were handi- 
capped in having to depend solely on the Hound, and tried 
unsuccessfully to develop what was wanted, viz.: a clever, hard- 
fighting, fearless terrier, of powerful size, and one preferably 
that could do some trailing. Many leading hunters produced a 
dog of these accomplishments, from their own cross-breeding, 
btft these results established no breed, and could not breed on. 
Their days were numbered, and while valiant as individuals, 
all such soon passed along. Some years ago, while conversing 
with Mr. Philip B. Stewart of Colorado Springs, a stalwart 
friend and supporter of all the best that's in the Airedale, 
this subject came up for discussion, and I recall Mr. Stewart's 
account of the most serviceable hunting dog in John Goff's 
pack, when on that notably Rocky Mountain hunt with Col. 
Roosevelt and party, as being a nondescript bull and some- 
thing else mixed, but a literal living wonder for courage and 
aggressiveness, trailing and combat. It was not long after, 
that this celebrated Rocky Mountain hunter, John Goff, began 
to hear enough of the Airedale to interest himself in trying a 
few of them, with the result that today his noted pack always 
contains the Airedale. Here is a letter and some excerpts from 
an article in Outdoor Life, which appeared in a discussion the 
author had covering this very subject: 

"Editor Outdoor Life: Your letter regarding the Airedale 
Terrier has just been received. I left here (Cody, Wyo.) on 
March 4 (1910) on a hunt in Colorado and Utah, and have just 
arrived home. In regard to the Airedale's nose, you can inform 
Mr. Simonds that he had been misinformed. There is no com- 
parison between the nose of the Airedale and that of the 
Hound. The Airedale has a good nose for hot trailing, but 
when a trail is ten hours old he can't do anything with it. 

"I have owned a great many hounds that would work out 
a trail three days old. I have two dogs now that will run 
a trail so cold that an Airedale can't tell what they are 
trailing, and they are just common hounds. But the Aire- 
dale is hard to beat for hot trailing and fighting. 

JOHN GOFF." 

Such a testimonial of the comparative value of the Aire- 
dale and the Hound from as dependable authority on the sub- 
ject speaks volumes in itself. 

The most noted big game hunting packs in the "West have 
Airedales, and investigation will show that in cases where they 
have been fortunate to get good Airedales and not the poorer 



126 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




Coon Hunting with an Airedale on Puget Sound 

Lake-Dell Dick (62 lbs.) following scent over windfall above 
a ravine. This picture was taken from bottom of ravine soon after 
the coon was seen to cross the log-; the Airedale in pursuit was 
caught by the camera in action of following the scent. This wind- 
fall is some 200 feet above the shores of Puget Sound, seen in the 
background. 



AIREDALES VS. HOUNDS 127 



sort, the Airedale is not content with being a following-dog. 
Most of them insist on taking the lead and quickly take the 
scent, and being particularly swift trailers and hunters, are 
usually the first to tree or hold at bay. 

Those who know the Airedale do not claim him to be a 
hound; far from it, as they are better than the Hound. Until 
the advent of the Airedale the Hound was the only dependable 
trailing dog. Now, the Airedale is not only a trailer but 
something more, a hard-fighting terrier, game to the core, with 
a thick coat that is a natural protection. This question is 
simply a case of what inheritance, experience and education 
develops when one has a good Airedale, for the green kennel- 
raised Airedale is at first useless in the hunting pack. Give 
the Airedale a decent chance to learn, and the majority of 
them will learn so fast that other breeds will sit up and take 
notice. 

Another one of the best known big game hunting packs in 
America, one which is hard at its pursuit of predatory animals 
every month in the year, is the pack in charge of the former 
U. S. Government Hunter for the State of Washington, P. C. 
Peterson, a life-time hunter in all parts of the world and one 
of the most successful big game hunters on the North American 
continent. Mr. Peterson has a mixed pack of Hounds and 
Airedales, and with him the usefulness of a dog is strictly a 
commercial proposition. If he earns his way, he gets a place 
in the pack. The following letter to the author is self- 
explanatory: 

U. S. Forest Service, North Bend, Wash., May 20, 1910. 

Dear Sir: Replying to your question about the Airedale 
as a trailer, compared to the hounds: I have hunted Airedales 
in my pack for nearly three years and recommend them. My 
leading dog, Whiskers, is an Airedale. I raised him in the 
mountains with me and he is now four years old. This Aire- 
dale will take a bear scent six or seven hours old, and alone, 
unassisted by any hound, follow it faster than the average 
hound and stay with the trail until the bear is at bay or treed. 
He has at times stayed with a bear thirty hours until found. 
He gives tongue on trail like a hound, and is very fast. The 
Airedale is equally as good a trailer on cougar as the hound, 
but on bobcats the trailing is more difficult, back-tracking, 
circling and such, in which work the very slow, careful, cold- 
tracking, pure-bred foxhound, like my Fanny, is the best. I 
just got back from my trip in the Olympics, where I got seven 
bears, three cougars and fourteen bobcats. 

P. C. PETERSON. 

Here is another: 

Gazelle, California, November 10, 1909. 
Dear Sir: I promised to let you know about my Airedale, 
"Rough Rock," in trailing. November 5 I gave him his first 
bear track alone. It was rather an old track and difficult to 



128 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



work, but he worked hard for an hour and fifteen minutes in 
heavy snow, brush and scrub oak before he jumped his bear. 
He put him over two mountain ridges before he treed. 

J. W. GREGG. 
And another: 

Dear Sir: It has been nearly a year since I received the 
Airedale, "Jack." I have used him for a "stopper" dog on 
deer, and he has as yet to lose his first one. I have hunted 
him on bear and lion (I do not use hounds) and he, in com- 
pany with two of Matlock Bob's pups, from Klootch, has done 
excellent trailing and treeing. It may please you to know that 
these young dogs run very fast, taking the scent from the 
bushes and bark on trail. These two young dogs treed a 
cougar when seven months old and stayed with him all night. 

H. M. LEIGHTON. 

The following estimate by a big game hunter of experience 
in the use of Hounds and Airedales gives much valuable infor- 
mation regarding their practical use: 

Scotia, California, December 28, 1912. 

Dear Sir: You ask me how Airedales compare to hounds in 
hunting big game? I have become very much interested in 
the Airedale breed as a serviceable and utility dog. I am not 
interested in the bench shows. 

I find all of the qualities in the Airedale that man can wish 
to find in a dumb friend; I use them for any purpose that a 
man can use a dog, though chiefly as a hunting dog. On 
bear I use three Airedales and one hound, and I have never 
yet had them whipped out, and I have never had one get away, 
only where they ran out of hearing and got lost from me. 
In such cases they generally stay out about two days. The 
hound is no benefit to the Airedales only in trailing. The 
Airedale is not fond of trailing and only his love for the fight 
makes him a trailer. They soon learn to have confidence in 
the hound's superior trailing qualities and soon learn to trail, 
but will not follow as persistently without the hound as with 
him; they have a splendid nose, equally as good as the average 
bred hound. They want to fight and are most scientific in 
their fighting methods. They never cross one another when 
fighting bear, generally coining in from opposite directions. 
When a bear turns and pursues, the dog on the opposite side 
soon attracts the bear's attention; when he turns to pursue that 
one, another snaps him. This kind of fighting never lasts but a 
few minutes until Mr. Bruin is ready to climb the first tree he 
can get to, and he will not back down at the approach of the 
hunter, as is often the case with other dogs. The Airedale's 
wonderful action and gameness make him the best close fighter 
on bear of any of the canine family by a large percentage. On 
the other hand, with hounds (I have run them for 15 years) 
you have the trailing qualities but not the fighting abilities, 
and most of the bear that tree are treed by the noise, and very 
often back down at the approach of the hunter, scaring the 
hounds away from the foot of the tree and making another 



AIREDALES VS. HOUNDS 



129 




130 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



probably long run. Jump a big fat one and very likely you 
get your hounds whipped out, for they are not game fighters 
and have neither the action nor the scientific methods of fight- 
ing that the Airedale has. If a bear stops on the ground the 
hounds will approach him, crowding side by side; sometimes 
one, a little bolder than the others, in front. If the bear chases 
him he will turn to run and, always looking back over his 
shoulder, as a result he runs against brush (for these battles 
generally take place in the worst jungles that are to be found 
in a mile square) and get caught. The others have not the 
instinct nor the close-fighting qualities to get in and give him 
immediate relief. If the hound succeeds in getting loose it is 
a safe bet that he will never get close enough to get caught 
again. The finer bred your hounds are, the more is this 
the case. 

I prefer the medium-size Airedale for the hunting pack. 
In fact my two best are a little under size, Model II (35 lbs.) 
and Bull Creek Marvel (33 lbs.)). Their small size adds to 
their action and they are not handicapped in the heavy sallal 
brush as the large dogs are. They require little training, just 
give them plenty of work and they will figure it out the best 
way themselves. I generally start the young dogs with a 
hound running coon when they are about ten months old, 
though Lake-Dell King and Lake-Dell Model fought a bear for 
seven hours alone when they were ten months old; they have 
been known to stay on trail and at tree for 27 hours. Some 
give tongue when trailing and some do not. Marvel is an ex- 
cellent tonguer and tree barker, though hardly loud enough to 
enable one to follow well in a rough country. If they have 
plenty of work with an experienced pack they will do to put in 
any kind of work at from 20 to 24 months old. I have one that 
I use as a slow trailer on deer and as a bird dog; as a slow 
trailer she can't be beat, and I have never had any narrow 
escapes or even been in any great danger from wounded deer, 
but if such should happen, I ask no better assistance for im- 
mediate relief than my Airedale; on quail she finds live, 
crippled and dead birds almost as well as a setter, and retrieves 
equally well. My next neighbor has one which I sold him a 
year ago; he used her for retrieving duck this winter and she 
did admirably well. Another neighbor has one of the same 
litter which he has used exclusively on quail and it is cer- 
tainly a great satisfaction to shoot over her. I also know of 
them being used as stock dogs and doing their work admirably, 
and easily controlled; and for wild hogs (there are a few in 
this country), and they are almost as dangerous as bear. As 
a hunting dog I can certainly vouch for the Airedale, for I 
have tried almost every breed; though I strongly advise run- 
ning them with hounds. THOS. C. CRAIG. 

Prefers Airedales to Hounds. 

Mr. R. M. Palmer: In regard to my opinion of Airedales 
vs. Hounds will say that I started hunting November 1st with 
eight Airedales and finished May 20th. During that time 1 
caught eight bear, four lions, thirty-two cats and seventeen 



AIREDALES VS. HOUNDS 131 



coons, and had the dogs, much to my sorrow, catch five porcu- 
pines on the ground. 

Four of the bears were small ones. I shot their lower 
jaws off, shoved them out of the trees and let the dogs kill 
them. All of the cats and coons treed and we made them 
jump out and the pack soon finished them. I never lost one 
animal that the dogs had a fair chance after. My best dogs 
will pick up a varmint's track five or six hours old and 
run it to a finish. I don't care for hounds as this is a 
very rough country and most of my hunting is done on the 
slopes of Mount Shasta in immense lava beds. A hound 
picks up a track that is sometimes a day old and he soon gets 
out of hearing as you are unable to keep up and it is only a 
chance if you ever find them; also with a good many bears, I 
have found that a hound would run them all right but when 
he got up he would stand off and only bark, and the bear would 
keep on traveling, and if I was unable to head him off and 
get in a shot it got away. With the Airedales, when they get 
up, they either make him tree or stop him or get killed trying. 

Probably there are lots of hounds that are fighters but I 
have never found one that suited me. Very truly yours, 

A. P. DEACON. 

The Airedale as one of the most wonderful trailing breeds 
has come to stay and is destined to "breed on." His constant 
use is bound to still further develop his proficiency to even 
a more acceptable and remarkable degree, for it is but a com- 
paratively limited number of years that he has been used to 
any extent by North American big game hunters. Previous 
to his advent all had been, off and on, trying to cross hounds 
with terriers to get such a dog as the Airedale is, but now 
with the established breed perfected for their use, possessing 
such dependable characteristics, the next decade or two will 
find them the best known big game hunting dog in the world, 
and, I repeat, "they have come to stay," and are within the 
reach and use of one and all. 



132 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 




CHAPTER XI. 



TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR SPORT 




'Pals' 



Airedales, Useful in Hunting. 

When the growing puppy 
has been thoroughly yard- 
broken he is ready to be 
guided and coached for his 
future use in the pursuit of 
sport. He should be abso- 
lutely obedient to the 
customary commands of 
"Down," "Heel Up," and 
"Get Away," for after one 
gets well into any further 
development with him 
there is no time or fit oc- 
casion to begin with the 
rudiments of the individ- 
ual's education already de- 
scribed in Chapter VII, and the obedience to these commands 
is always necessary to properly control Airedales when in 
number in the hunting fields. 

If one is to use the Airedale for sport with the shotgun, 
on upland game, or on water fowl, the sooner the youngster 
is interested in game bird life the better. The disposition to 
chase all birds is in the Airedale, and the puppy should be 
given his full liberty at this. It will not be long before he 
detects the difference between the scent of a game bird and 
others. When he is seen to be following scent, begin to 
caution him and by talking to him quietly and maybe teaching 
him to stop at the word "whoa," the Airedale will soon be 
found to be excellent material to work upon in this direction. 
Training a dog to work satisfactorily to the gun is an easy 
matter if one is adept in handling a dog's particular tempera- 
ment. 

The Airedale has such a good nose that if steadily ac- 
customed to hunting feathered game most satisfactorily results 
can be attained in making him a dependable game dog. He 
will stop on scent of close lying birds, and by exercising control 
over him can be used in snipe, quail or pheasant shooting to 
much advantage. 

Mr. H. W. Esselstyn, a gentleman of extended experience 
in handling and developing hunting dogs, particularly pointers 
and setters, writes the following regarding his observations 
and experience with the Airedale: 



134 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



"Dear Sir: I have owned a good many dogs. Some were 
good in one line of work and some in another. When I lo- 
cated on my Washington poultry ranch I decided to try out 
one of the 'wonderful all-around dogs,' that I had heard and 
read so much about — the Airedale. 1 thought that some one 
was drawing a pretty long bow. But I found that the Airedale 
more than made good; with me it is once an Airedale, always 
an Airedale. As a water retriever they have no peer. On 
upland birds they require but very little training, as they love 
the work. They have a wonderful nose and I think an Aire- 
dale, with the same training that a setter or pointer receives, 
would hold his own. They are not extremely wide rangers. 
A wide ranger is all right in field trials, but would be useless 
in the country we have to work in — on Puget Sound. I do not 
think that the straight force method would work as well 
with the Airedale as a combination of natural and force 
system. The Airedale is so intelligent and so very anxious 
and willing to learn that I think the best results can be 
obtained by using the spike collar only as a last resort, 
when the dog refuses to obey an order you are sure he 
knows the meaning of. I was afraid the Terrier blood in 
the Airedale would give him a hard mouth in retrieving 
upland birds, but such is not the case. To ilustrate what an 
easy mouth they can use: Some time ago my dog, 'Lake-Dell 
Leader,' came on the run from the far end of my place. By 
his actions I knew that he had something in his mouth that he 
wanted to give me. I reached out my hand, and he very 
carefully put an egg in my hand, then started back, and took 
me to where one of my high-flying White Leghorns had gone 
over the fence and stolen her nest. There were six eggs left 
in the nest. Since that time I always take Leader when I go 
through the yards, telling him to look for eggs. He works 
carefully back and forth in the ferns in the back of the yards 
and has retrieved many an egg, and has yet to crack the first 
one. On quail that he has retrieved for me, he hardly dis- 
turbed a feather. Anyone who has seen an Airedale at work 
on big game knows he has no equal. One thing I have noticed 
about an Airedale is that they seem to be so pleased and 
interested when given some work that is to be their work — 
driving stock, work with the chickens, carrying mail from the 
mail-box, anything that is their particular job — and the more 
work they have the better they like it. To sum it all up, the 
Airedale — with half a show- — will do the work of any kind of 
dog, and make good in any place." 

Gunshyness, How Avoided and Cured. 

Young dogs should not be frightened by the discharge of 
firearms near them and never be shot over until first accus- 
tomed in a proper way to the gun. Many an otherwise splen- 
did prospect has been ruined by the ignorance and short- 
sightedness of an owner in making a mistake in the beginning. 
No matter how sensitive an individual disposition you have to 
deal with, even of the really timid sort, if one starts right with 







Airedales Working on Wild Ducks 

(1) Dr. A. P. Deacon sending- one of his Airedales after 
wounded duck near Willows, California. 

(2) "Stormy Weather" retrieving- from Quill Lake, Canada. 



136 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



the gun problem you are bound to succeed. But taking a timid 
puppy to the traps and having him scared to death by the 
cannonading of the firearms, or shooting off guns about his 
kennel home, when his attention is not diverted by an interest 
in something to his liking, is in effect the same as a deliberate 
plan of making a young dog needlessly gunshy, though some 
there are that will withstand even this heroic treatment and 
come out of it with heedless courage. The one underlying 
principle that must be thoroughly kept in mind to accustom a 
young dog to the sound of the discharge of firearms, is to be 
certain that the young dog is intently interested in the object 
of the sport, such as bird life and its chasing, or animal life 
and the excitement of its trailing or treeing. When the young 
dog is thoroughly imbued with the excitement of its nature in 
pursuing game in this manner, then, and only then, is the 
right time to first fire a gun over or near him. The surprise 
is then completely absorbed in the mental excitement over the 
game, and your dog associates the explosion as being con- 
nected with his own mental interest in game life. This ethical 
view of accustoming a young dog to firearms is the underlying 
principle involved in all theories upon this subject, which are 
numerous. Once understood, it is easy to see that its success 
is always assured. Curing gunshyness in a dog that has been 
started off wrong is a much more difficult task than avoiding 
its occurrence. There is but one humane and successful method 
for its accomplishment, and that is the one suggested herein. 
Get your subject thoroughly interested in a mental way in the 
excitement of some game, and then use the gun, moderately 
at first, and if discretion and patience is used the result is 
certain. The author once had a seemingly hopeless gunshy 
setter. After studying the case a great deal, the above system 
was alone responsible for his complete cure. An Airedale is 
just as much subject to gunshyness as any other breed if 
improperly introduced to the sound of the gun. Make this 
start correctly and there will be no trouble thereafter. 

Retrieving. 

Whatever game the Airedale is to be used on under the 
shotgun, retrieving is essentially a dependence that the breed 
naturally inclines toward. In beginning the education of an 
Airedale that is to be used in retrieving, the principles outlined 
in Chapter VII should be followed rigidly. A roll of cloth, 
rolled hard, about the size of a game bird, is the best thing to 
use for yard training to retrieve. A ball is objectionable, as 
too hard, or, if soft the dog is inclined to squeeze the object 
brought. Playful retrieving is a good enough beginning but 
the required obedience to command FETCH should be insisted 
upon. In perfecting this, there is but one dependable method 
to adopt, and that is a partial force system, by which is meant 



TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 137 

one that need not necessarily administer pain as penalty for 
refusal but yet one in which the insistence on obedience to 
command is demanded and secured. If the dog in question 
is so fully imbued with the wish to retrieve that there is no 
tendency to refuse, there need be no force tactics, and this is 
the case with almost all Airedales. In the case of some more 
stubborn temperaments, or those who wish to obey only when 
so inclined, the following method will outline the best means 
of exacting implicit obedience in the matter of making a 
forced retriever, such that no matter where the command is 
given it will be obeyed, as having compulsion associated with 
it by early teaching. 

Daily Lessons. 

Have a regular time each day, not longer in duration than 
twenty minutes or half an hour. The dog is always handled 
with a lead. The left hand handles the mouth; always stand 
on the right side of the dog, facing in the same direction the 
dog does. Holding roll in right hand, give the command 
FETCH. (The pupil will not heed the command.) Then, with 
the left hand force open the mouth quickly and insert the cloth 
roll, repeating the word HOLD. After enforcing the holding 
of the cloth roll, release the roll on command GIVE. Praise 
the effort and repeat many times, rewarding the progress made 
with a tid-bit. By easy and patient stages of progress the 
cloth is gradually held a bit farther away from the muzzle 
until the pupil reaches for it, on command FETCH, each time, 
and holds until told to GIVE. Extending this reaching inclin- 
ation down toward the floor and finally from off the palm of 
hand rested on floor, the pupil will quickly FETCH the roll off 
the ground, and bring it for delivery (always as yet on lead). 
Liberty allowed in perfecting a forced retriever is impossible 
at this stage, for the first time you meet with a refusal to obey, 
it is necessary to return to the beginning, and by easy stages 
force by pinching the lips a bit in enforcement of the opening 
of mouth. Intimidating the pupil is not desired or necessary. 
Simple sternness, careful handling, and plenty of praise and 
reward for successful efforts will bring the results, but dis- 
obedience to command should not be permitted at any stage, 
for this absolute requirement of instant obedience to com- 
mand is the underlying secret of the success of the entire sys- 
tem, which from custom eventually becomes a reliance that 
makes the sort of retriever that never refuses to FETCH when 
told. As soon as the pupil will FETCH promptly the length 
of the lead, begin to steadily increase the distance (at liberty 
now), and from having made the lessons a daily fixture and 
continuing them even after the pupil is most dependable in his 
performances, results of the desired kind will be attained. In- 
teresting a young dog to "seek bird" at command, by the use 



138 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



of nose to find hidden objects is another valuable aid in his 
development. 

A Lost Duck. 

The writer once had an amusing experience with a dog 
that he had educated on this system of forced retrieving, 
which is but one of many incidents to show that a brainy dog 
at times has more good sense and judgment than his master. 
It was after a morning's flight of ducks on the marshes of the 
Sumas Prairie had subsided, and the subject of conversation 
with a companion hunter was forced retrieving and its ad- 
vantages. My companion suddenly remembered a duck lost 
in the middle of a pond-hole a week previously which had 
not been retrieved, as his dog would not go out for it. 
There was nothing to do but to prove the theory in practice, 
so both of us repaired to the locality of the lost duck. There 
it was, out in the middle, quietly resting upon the placid water. 
To get the trained forced retriever to go out to it, something 
was thrown out toward its vicinity and the command FETCH 
given. Instantly the dog went out, but had hardly ap- 
proached the spot when he turned in his wake and returned 
to shore. The laugh was immediately on dog and the writer. 
Had the dog been a "pleasure retriever" only, the incident 
would have necessarily ended then and there. The pupil 
had, however, been thoroughly well grounded in his lessons 
and knew that a positive refusal was not to be permitted, so 
another trial was given the dog. This time, the writer gave 
the command FETCH and watched progress from the shore. 
When the dog came within a few feet of the duck, he turned 
and looked at his master with an expression of the eyes almost 
saying, "If you really want it I will bring it in"; whereupon, 
with the order repeated, the dog reach for and took the tip 
end of one wing in his mouth and literally towed it to shore, 
but before the shore was reached the stench from the carcass 
was enough to drive away all personal interest in its posses- 
sion. The laugh was then promptly upon the other fellow, 
and there was no room to further doubt the ethics of forced 
retrieving or the ability of this particular retriever. 

Preparation for Vermin Killing and Big Game Hunting. 

Another sphere for the usefulness of the Airedale and 
essentially one for which he is perfectly qualified is vermin 
killing and big game hunting. The principle involved in suc- 
cessfully perfecting his development in these is beginning 
slowly with a puppy and never advancing one's expectations 
beyond the dog's capabilities. A good plan is to give a puppy, 
three or four months old, rats to kill and become much inter- 
ested in. Confine them in a tight room, at first, until the 
youngster becomes accomplished and quick in the work of 
killing with despatch. Next, encourage the chasing of stray 



TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 



139 




Black Bear Treed by Airedales 

Illustration shows the eager gameness displayed by Airedales in 
forcing a captive bear to seek safety in climbing tree. 



140 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



cats and treeing them. If coons are to be found, it is a good 
plan to take a young dog, when past six months old, out with 
some experienced coon dog and give him the experience of a 
hunt. Don't expect much heavy work in killing, until an 
Airedale is past a year old. A puppy that has been accustomed 
to vermin killing during the first year of its life takes readily 
to hunting big game, when old enough, and most any green 
and inexperienced Airedale when not too far advanced in age 
has an inherent fondness to get out and hunt vigorously when 
near the haunts of game, especially if in the company of older 
and experienced dogs at first. The writer has always made a 
practice of sending a young dog, when almost a year old, 
that was to be fitted for big game hunting, off for one season 
of steady hunting with some good hunter who has experi- 
enced dogs and let his practical experiences be his education in 
this particular sport. There may be some little danger at 
first if young dogs are inclined to be a bit too courageous and 
at times when working on bear for their first time they get in 
too close and get bad cuffs Which tears them up a bit but rarely 
ever fatally. In company with other dogs there is but little 
risk. 

The Airedale's cleverness in keeping out of harm's way is 
most exceptional, and in this respect they excel any other 
breed of hunting dogs, and no breed possesses such unfailing 
and ever present courage in dexterously handling most diffi- 
cult emergencies, encountered particularly in bear hunting, and 
many a present day hunter owes his life to the courage of his 
Airedales, when other dogs in his pack weaken; their dead- 
game faithfulness in sticking by and diverting an infuriated 
bear that has a hunter in a bad pocket being today probably 
the strongest asset of the Airedale as a breed for hunting work. 

Pulling Porcupine Quills from Dogs. 

Inasmuch as those who hunt Airedales where porcupines 
abound are at first bothered with their dogs killing them 
and getting the quills badly into face and mouth, the helpful 
advice of an experienced hunter will assist many in being 
properly prepared to help out in such a contingency. Mr. C. 
Cobb, taxidermist of Kalispell, Montana, recommends the fol- 
lowing: Carry in your hip pocket a half-pint flask of acid 
vinegar and a pair of five-inch flat-nosed pliers. Pour the 
vinegar over the nose and mouth, where the quills are. The 
vinegar will soak down the quill and immediately stop the 
quill from working in any farther, also causing the quill to 
release its hold and thus be pulled out very easily. The acid 
in the vinegar seems to soften the quills. A dog should be 
choked down and held during the operation, which once ex- 
perienced they submit to without much resistance. 



TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 141 



Females Compared to Males. 

The question is often asked, "Is the female as capable in 
hunting as the male?" The reply is unquestionably that the 
female Airedale is fully as capable, if not more so, than the 
male in every test of courage and gameness, and trailing of 
big game. The females in all breeds seem to by nature have 
a most dependable hunting am'bition, and in actual combat are 
most fearless when aroused. The breeding season of a female 
is an annoyance when in company with other dogs, especially 
when conditions are not convenient for her care, as in mountain 
life. For companionship and personal use in occasional hunt- 
ing, the female is much the preferable to own, but for the reg- 
ular hunting pack the males are better adapted and give the 
most satisfactory results. 

Hunting Methods Used. 

Some work the Airedale always within reach on still- 
hunting and slow-trailing methods, but the majority of big 
game hunters who use Airedales, accustom them to a free and 
wide liberty of range, depending on their barking when on 
trail to determine their whereabouts, and as in all big game 
hunting, trailing-bark is readily distinguishable from the bark 
when game is at bay or treed. This method seems to be 
destined to be the accepted one, especially for covering lots 
of territory. 

How to "Pack" a Hunting Dog. 

Airedales are readily trained to carry a "pack" in hunting 
trips through timber and mountainous regions, and when not 
overloaded their natural great strength is in this manner put 
to valuable use when pack horses are not available. Ten miles 
a day over rough country is a fair daily average. A 40-pound 
dog carries 15 pounds, a 65-pound dog 20 pounds and an 80- 
pound dog 30 pounds all day without fatigue. The "pack" 
should not be bulky, preferably feed. Divide the material car- 
ried into two equal parts and put same into small (flour) 
sacks. Put these into an ordinary jute feed sack, tying the 
open end. In the middle, three or four inches from one edge, 
cut a hole large enough to slip over the dog's head. When 
put on tie the ends beneath the chest. 

Coupling Dogs. 

When coupling dogs together in timbered sections, do not 
use chain couplings, but good stout cord, for the reason that 
at times dogs will start on fresh scent when coupled and get 
fast in some tangle while lost. If tied with rope, they will 
gnaw it until free and thus return to camp. 



142 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 





Mr. 1*. Bawden, with three of his fav- 
orites, Swale Lady, Caerphilly Betty 
and Caerphilly Heroine. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE AIREDALE IN CANADA. 

By Mr. P. Bawden, Ridgetown, Ontario, Director and ex- 
President Canadian Kennel Club, and Owner of 
the Caerphilly Kennels. 

The history of the Airedale in Canada goes hack to about 
1900 and I have it on good authority that the first of the 
breed imported into Canada was through one of the Hendries 
of Hamilton. The first breeder to take up Airedales to any 
extent was the late C. W. Lauren, Esq., of Montreal, who 
imported many well known English winners and the success 
of the breed in Canada owes much to his enterprise. Among 
many of the good ones he imported might be mentioned the 
Champions Master Royal, Mistress Royal, Tone Masterpiece 
and Rockley Oorang. Mr. McKey, of Hamilton, was also one 
of the pioneer fanciers of the breed. Mr. S. Black, of Toronto, 
for some years was an extensive breeder and did some win- 
ning. Mr. J. W. Bain, of Toronto, president of the Canadian 
Airedale Club, has owned many good ones, Champion Culming- 
ton Nettle being prominent among them, a bitch that was 
shown against all comers without defeat. Mr. Bain became 
one of our best amateur judges. The Caerphilly Kennel started 
in 1906 with a Floriform bitch and has steadily increased its 



144 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 

breeding stock, owning numerous winners and importations 
of note. The noted sire Caerphilly Marvel brought much fav- 
orable publicity to this kennel, ending his career in 1916 at 
eleven years of age: He left a record to be proud of: His 
progeny are known from coast to coast: He sired the best 
Canadian-bred dog puppy at Toronto, also, Marvel's Double, 
the big winner at Detroit Auto Show in April, 1916, securing 
many special prizes, among them cup for best in show. Marvel's 
Double was sold for $250 to Mr. Kenny of Detroit. 

During 1915 and 1916 a great deal of improvement was 
made in this popular breed in Canada and many good dogs 
have sprung up and while all are not prize winners, they 
are a great improvement on the dogs formerly shown, and it 
is an exception to see a really poor specimen at our shows. It 
looks promising for the future, as breeders are paying more 
attention to the bitch end of the game. Formerly anything 
that was an Airedale was mated to some well-known stud dog, 
with the result that there were many indifferent specimens 
thrown on the public, and soft coats and light eyes were 
prominent. 

So much has been written on the origin of the Airedale 
that the writer refrains from enlarging on what has been 
written, but it may not be out of place to quote from one of 
the best authorities of the old school, "Stonehenge," in his 
"Dogs of the British Isles": He states one of the first of 
the breed to receive recognition was the bitch Fracture, owned 
by Judge L. P. C. Astley in 1885, and at that time the best of 
her breed. This bitch, according to Stonehenge, is spoken of 
as having a good nose, very fond of water, and possessing a 
fair amount of intelligence, good on rats and rabbits. He 
states that it is almost impossible to trace the origin of the 
breed to any particular source, except that it is "generally 
admitted" to be a mixture of Scottish, Dandie, Bedlington and 
Bull terrier crosses mixed with Otterhound. 

Mr. Norman Mackenzie, of Regina, is about the most en- 
thusiastic Airedaler we have, his importation, King Nobblers 
Double, having now become both American and Canadian 
Champion during the last year of fearless showing, meeting 
the best and coming out with a few exceptions on the top of 
the heap. Another good one Mr. Mackenzie has is his latest 
importation, International Champion Polam Maxim, considered 
a well-balanced terrier. 

A dog that was much admired during 1915 was Morning 
Admiration, owned by E. W. Bellinger, of Toronto. This dog 
was easily the best Canadian-bred dog out and also did very 
well at New York. Had he a bit more size, experts say, he 
would have topped the lot. The usual number of new breeders 
spring up each year; starting out with a cheap bitch, mated to 



THE AIREDALE IN CANADA 



145 



some well-known stud dog, they consider themselves full- 
fledged Airedalers, but their term is usually short-lived, as 
the public prefer to pay a fair price for a good specimen, with 
the result that the best breeders still find a steady demand 
for their offerings. 

In the past two or three years new breeders who have be- 
come prominent in getting hold of good specimens, can be 
mentioned, Jos. Russell, M. P. P., Toronto, Fred J. Blake, Al- 
monte, Ont., Gordon Higbee, Fonthill, Ont., P. R. Hilborn, 
Preston, Ont. There are a number of others in Canada, too, 




"Birchcliffe Selected" 

An excellent natural photograph of a typical Airedale, a first 
prize winner at New York Show. Owned by Mr. Bawden, Ridge- 
town, Canada 



but these gentlemen have gone to considerable expense in 
importing bitches, in whelp to noted sires, besides bringing 
out other stock which will help considerably to improve the 
Airedale in Canada. 

Mr. Walter Berwick, of Shelburne, Ont., owner of the 
Dufferin Kennels, has done much for the breed. It would De- 
an oversight to close this article without mentioning Lieut.- 
Col. Ussher, late of Toronto. He was the breeder and owner 
of Champion Graystone Growler and other good ones. Col. 
Ruttan, of Port Arthur, Ont., went in strong for the Caerphilly 
strain and showed with much success. 

The Canadian West is favored in having many Airedale 
enthusiasts. British Columbia is full of them, with McConnell 
of Vancouver breeding good ones each season. Mr. Geo. Gil- 
lespie of Victoria started in well with some notable importa- 
tions from the Clonmel Kennels over a decade ago, and other 
younger breeders are keeping the breed to the front, partic- 
ularly Mrs. A. L. Brownlie, Victoria, owner of Capilano Chi- 
nook, and A. E. Grant, South Vancouver, owner of the winner 
at several shows, Champion Killarney Marion. 



146 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



It is quite evident that the Airedale is the most popular 
breed in Canada today and is destined to remain so, as long 
as its breeders keep the practical usefulness of the breed 
intact and also keep pace with the rapid advance in perfection 
of individual type, which only careful study and most suc- 
cessful matings can produce. 











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vm I We 






s^y^^i? 


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v^/.-. ", ; ■ "'■■ "" * '• 



A Family Party of Canadian-breds. 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 



There is no other breed that is destined to have so much 
written concerning it as the Airedale, for its use in so 
many varied callings in life constantly brings before the 
public tales of the cleverness of the breed. The oft-discussed 
question, does a dog "think"? is amply answered in many 
experiences with Airedales, for the Airedale is most certainly 
"a dog that thinks." The following anecdotes are duly ac- 
credited experiences mostly within the acquaintance of the 
author, and some of them have been published previously in 
the journals mentioned, with articles furnished by the author. 
They are of interest to all fanciers of the breed, as illustrating 
in some special manner the successful use of the breed, whether 
in big-game hunting or its cleverness shown in odd experi- 
ences. 

In an illustrated article on "The Working Airedale" in 
Recreation (March, 1908) compiled by the author, which 
article was the first of its kind to be published, the following 
is of interest: 

Field Sport With an Airedale. 

"One of the first imported Airedales to prove himself a 
fine working dog in the West was Waterside Wizard, and the 
blood of this dog is prominent in many of the best working 
Airedales in the West today. J. A. Kerr relates how he found 
this dog Wizard capable of remarkably intelligent work in 
field shooting. He hunted over this dog for a number of 
days and speaks of his great accuracy in trailing grey squirrels 
and locating them positively in tall trees. This dog was also 
trained on quail and he would hunt a hedge row or stubble so 
well and fast, locating the birds cautiously when they were 
near him, that he was nearly the equal of a setter. Wizard 
excelled as a retriever and his get shows this strong char- 
acteristic." 

Hunting Big Game in California. 

Rough Rock, the hero of the following anecdotes, was a 
June, 1904, puppy and for the first twenty months of his life 
was a family pet and child's playmate, an undersized Airedale, 
weighing less than 40 pounds, by Timrock ex. Lady Marvel. 

In February, 1906, he was sent to J. W. Gregg, a big- 
game hunter, in the Shasta Mountain region of California. Mr. 
Gregg had for years hunted with a pack of cross-bred hounds, 
and long wished for a terrier that could not only kill in single 



148 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 

combat anything of reasonable size, but one that would tree 
and "stay with" at bay large game, and also a dog possessing 
enough nose to trail independent of the hounds. His experi- 
ence with this, his first Airedale, is noteworthy as exhibiting 
the merits of the breed. 

"Mr. R. M. Palmer: I received Rough Rock in due time 
and must say he is the greatest piece of dog flesh I have 
ever run across. 

"His first work was to hunt gophers in the alfalfa fields. 
Then I caught a full-grown coyote in a steel trap, and I 
liberated his foot and put him into a 50-pound apple box, 
and unbeknown to Rough Rock placed the box out in the 
alfalfa field, where Roughy went each morning to hunt 
gophers. Then I climbed up into my barn where I could see 
the fun. He dug gophers a short time before he smelled the 
coyote, and the way he flew at that box was not slow, and 
he soon had the box torn open and pulled the coyote out, 
and such a fight I never saw before. First one on top 
and then the other. Not a sound was made, only the hurried 
breathing to tell one that it was a life and death struggle. 
Once the coyote tore loose and made a dash for liberty, 
but the pi' ;> soon caught him by the ham, and again they 
were locked in a death struggle, and in a few minutes 
Roughy had his first coyote killed. He stood and looked at 
it a minute, then trotted off to a ditch, took a drink and took 
one more look at the coyote and went back to his work digging 
out gophers. 

"I have had him out on only one hunt. We were out 
three days and killed one cougar, two bears (one black and 
one brown) and one fisher. Roughy ran from start to finish 
ahead of the hounds, barked at the tree and fought as hard 
as he could. I notice that he can climb over rocks that the 
pack has to go around. He never has time to play with the 
young hounds, but tries to get them to hunt with him. I saw 
him bring them a squirrel today that he had worked at least 
an hour to dig out. He delights to help drive the cattle and 
always wants to help with wild horses, or when branding 
calves. He is all attention at all times. I never saw a dog 
that wanted to work or tried to help as he does." 

Also Mr. Gregg writes: "Yesterday I was moving cattle, 
had a collie pup and Rough Rock with me. The shepherd pup 
saw a coyote and ran it over a ridge, but soon came back 
hunting me, the coyote chasing him. Rough came up just in 
time and joined the chase. The coyote was enjoying himself 
too much to notice Roughy coming like an avenging angel to 
the rescue of the pup, and before the coyote was aware of his 
presence Roughy had him by the ham. The motions of the 
pair in the mix-up that followed were so rapid that one could 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 149 

hardly tell coyote from dog, but soon Roughy had him by the 
throat and hung there until the coyote was dead." (We often 
hear the inquiry, can an Airedale kill a coyote without the 
assistance of other dogs? This is only one of numerous in- 
stances of its being done within my acquaintance. If the 
coyote is caught there is no question about an Airedale doing 
the killing, but they are not so easily caught except by the 
use of speedy dogs to outrun or turn them.) 

Mr. Gregg further writes: 

"Since I wrote you last, Rough Rock has had varied experi- 
ences. He helped to kill six bears, some of them he treed 
alone before the hounds caught up with him, as he outruns all 
tbe other dogs, either on a cold or a hot trail, and the rougher 
the ground the farther he is ahead. He is the most reckless 
devil I ever saw. I have seen him swing onto the ribs of a 
bear on a down-hill run and it did not seem to me that his feet 
touched the ground once in ten yards. I have seen small 
bears cuff him and roll him ten feet, but he was back again, 
fighting like a demon. 

About two weeks ago I was out on the range. Rough Rock 
was with me. On my return home I missed him, so I took 
some of the other dogs and went back to where I last saw 
him. By careful work I found where he had been following a 
coon track and the other dogs finally gathered around a big 
oak. I dug a hole near the ground and could hear Roughy 
barking inside. I dug out a lot of rotten wood and then 
a big dead coon, which had completely stopped the hole 
up, so that the dog could not get out. As soon as the hole 
was opened he came out and I then pulled out two more dead 
coons, both full grown females. He must have had a 'hot 
time.' 

"My two children were out riding today, looking over the 
cattle, and Roughy was along. They heard him barking in a 
clump of oaks and found he had a lynx (California bay-lynx) 
in a small oak. When it jumped out of the tree Roughy at- 
tacked it. After a hard fight, Roughy killed it alone and the 
children tied a halter rope to it and dragged it home. 

"November, 1907. — I have had a week of successful hunt- 
ing in which Rough Rock has cut a conspicuous figure. In 
our first kill, my 'start dog' was caught by the bear and 
badly crippled, so I had to depend on Rough Rock altogether 
as a starter, and he proved himself a No. 1 start dog. He has 
stayed under a tree for two days and nights, keeping the bear 
up the tree. He has treed two bears and one mountain lion 
alone in the past week. He would rather tree lynx than eat, 
and at a guess, would say that he has treed twenty in the last 
six months. Show him once and he remembers. He is per- 
fectly broken off of deer, will sometimes stop and look at 



150 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



them, but never runs them. At night when I pick up the milk 
buckets he is off for the cows and drives them up slowly, and 
no matter where I am, he is always on hand ready to help." — 
J. W. Gregg, Gazelle, California. 

Hunting in Washington. 

In the pursuit of big game in the State of Washington, 
experiences with the Airedale are similar. Mr. A. E. Mc- 
Sorley, formerly of Elma, has hunted the Airedale much in 
company with hounds. He writes: "I killed two wildcats 
yesterday and enjoyed a fine chase. We had three Airedales 
and three hounds and I tell you we had some fine music. * * * 
Last week we took Ruler out with a couple of hounds after a 
big bear. They gave him a hot chase all day, in and out of 
hearing, but the timber and brush was so dense we could not 
get near enough for a shot. Night coming on, we had to go 
home without the dogs. The next afternoon a farmer came 
to town with the hounds. He had heard the dogs baying and 
barking in the woods near his place, and went out there and 
killed the bear they had kept treed all night. He had at- 
tempted to skin the bear, but the Airedale would not let him 
touch it. I hitched up my rig and drove out with him five 
miles and found Ruler a mighty glad dog to see me and be 
released from his vigil. 

"The dogs trailed a bob-cat the other day for several 
hours. Hearing them making toward the head of the gulch, 
I took Lady Marvel with me and crossed to where the cat 
would have to come and no sooner got there than Marvel saw 
it coming along a wind-fall and she closed in with it at once 
and after a hard fight killed it alone. As the other dogs came 
up trailing, I held them, to see if she could make the kill 
herself, which she certainly did with utmost gameness." 




Lady Marvel 

An old-timer, a winner in 1903 and a real sporting Airedale. 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 



151 



A Household Assistant. 

Mr. J. E. Zeiner, of Asotin, Wash., believes in an Airedale 
doing his full share of the family household duties and on 
wash-day the services of his "Rastus" are employed in running 
the washing machine, which duty he performs with ready 
willingness. 




Rastus Helping the Family on Wash-day 

An Airedale as a Life-saver. 

Current press reports relate the following incident as 
^"curring in Dayton, Ohio: A littJo girl had become lost from 
her mother in the city's crowded streets, but was accompanied 
by an Airedale, carrying a bundle in his mouth. When 
crossing a crowded street, an automobile came whizzing by. 
The Airedale grasped the child's dr^ss and pulled her out of 
danger, but the machine struck the dog and sent him spinning 
into the street. The dog soon regained hi3 feet and trotted 
limpingly along with his ward. It was afterwards learned 
that the dog was owned by C J. Bulpin, a well known Airedale 
fancier of that city. Although the dog was considerably 
shaken up by his collision with the auto, his injuries were not 
sorious. The dog was Wachusett Flashlight, and Mr. Bulpin 
states that on two occasions this dog has rescued children 
from drowning. 

How "Rags" Handled the Boar. 

L. R. Colt, of Lakeside, Washington, has had a number 
of Airedales on his Chelan ranch. He states that they have 
actually cleaned his large place up so thoroughly in extermi- 
nating vermin that there is nothing left save his poultry 



152 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



and stock. Not long since he was entertaining a visiting 
delegation from the State Agricultural College, and as the 
visitors wished to inspect his hogs, they adjourned to the 
barns, accompanied by the "monarch of all he surveys," Mr. 
Colt's Airedale, "Rags." After looking over the choice pork- 
ers, the stall of a bear was opened and the big fellow 
inspected and admired. Being of the vicious sort, the old 
boar was not encouraged to make friends and on leaving 
his quarters, the stall gate was left open by mistake. It was 
but a minute before the big fellow was charging all occupants 
of the stables and had things flying about lively. It seemed 
impossible to control him, when without a word of command 
or direction up came the Airedale, Rags, and, comprehend- 
ing the situation at a glance, he closed in on the boar, took 
him firmly by one ear and most vigorously led him back to 
his stall. The boar seemed conquered at once and became 
most amenable to his new master. All remarked on the 
sagacity of the Airedale in this feat of cleverness. 

Manners at Meal Times, Etc. 

R. R. Upper, of Orillia, Wash., tells us that his Airedale, 
Lake-Dell Peggy, besides other clever stunts, has one of daily 
occurrence, which is this: At milking time she goes at once 
and hunts up her feed pan, bringing it in her mouth, holding 
it by the rim, and waits patiently by while the cows are milked, 
when she places her pan beside the full pail and silently asks 
for her portion, which, of course, she never fails to get. 

Among other amusing habits on the ranch this same Aire- 
dale, Peggy, has cultivated, is her dexterity in catching field 
moles: As a puppy after many failures to dig them out, she 
of her own "thinking" decided on a plan, which was this: 
Coming to a fresh mole mound, she would stealthily watch it, 
like a cat watching a mouse hole, and the instant the dirt 
mound was seen to move a little, she would spring and grab, 
dirt pile and all, and in this way caught the mole, too. A 
ranch dog like Peggy likes to exhibit her knowledge of new 
finds. One day she went out to the plowman in the field and 
carefully laid an egg down on the ground near him, and 
seemed much excited over the incident. It being almost lunch 
time, he took the egg and followed her lead back some dis- 
tance to the barn, where in great excitement Peggy led him to 
a newly discovered stolen nest with a large number of eggs in 
it, from which she had taken the one to exhibit her find. 

An Airedale Better Than a Gun. 

Several years ago the author when calling upon Mr. Harry 
W. Lacy, in Boston, who is today recognized as a leading judge 
of national reputation and a firm friend of the Airedale, 
asked Mr. Lacy what he thought of the breed. His reply was 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 153 



brief, in that with his affliction (deafness) ) "he would rather 
have an Airedale at his heels when among strangers than any 
other breed of dogs." 

Illustrative of this deep-seated disposition of always being 
ready to guard the person of his master, Mr. W. B. Bailey 
writes: 

"I was taking a puppy I had sold, on chain Thursday night, 
Jan. 6, 1911, about 9 o'clock, from my place to the Northern 
Pacific depot, to ship her to her new owner. The route was 
on the railroad tracks through the yards about a mile and a 
half. I had passed one fellow, who turned and followed me. 
As I did not like his looks, I hurried on and had not gone more 
than fifty yards, when the pup (only seven months old) started 
to growl. It was pitch-dark. I could see nothing, but pres- 
ently a fellow came up out of the ditch and ordered me to 
'throw up your hands.' Just then the dog made a leap at him. 
I let go the chain and yelled 'Get him, Jess!' and ran. From 
the fact that he did not take a shot at me or the dog, I am of 
the opinion that the dog gave him so much to think of so 
suddenly, that he lost his nerve. However that may have 
been, the Airedale saved my watch and a few dollars. Score 
one more for the Airedale. If this had been the old dog, I 
would not have been surprised, as he is certainly 'some dog,' 
but it was out of common for a seven-month-old pup." 

An Airedale to Guard Chicks. 

We have all heard of the faithful sheep dog, and his 
brainy methods employed to keep his flock moving to his sat- 
isfaction, but here is one for an Airedale (Lake-Dell Racket), 
who, when farmed out for a season, of her own accord immedi- 
ately took much interest in the rancher's flock of poultry. He 
soon noticed her driving them away from forbidden territory 
in a garden spot and when the little chicks insisted on getting 
out of the yard, she would take them up tenderly and free 
them at the place of their escape and see that they went back 
again. One day the rancher had been away and on his return 
he could see Racket very busy with the poultry. The gate 
of the corral had been left open, and the whole flock seemed 
possessed to get out, much to her annoyance. He was so much 
amused with her guardianship that he sat down on a log on 
the side hill and watched the performance. After several 
failures, she finally drove them all into their yard, and then, 
in order to keep them there, lay down directly across the 
entrance and drove back every transgressor, until on his return 
the closed gate put an end to the necessity of her watchfulness, 
much to her delight. 



154 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



Discriminating. 

Mr. N. C. Westerfield, of Oregon City, relates a story about 
his Airedale, Governor Kibby, displaying such watchfulness 
over his poultry yards that whenever one of the White Leg- 
horns would fly into the Buff Rock yards, he would make the 
offense known in no unmistakable manner to the household 
and, on being taken to the yard, drive the offender out. 

As a Detective. 

The following clipping from the American Stockkeeper 
(Boston) shows that in Europe the trailing instincts of the 
Airedale have been developed to a remarkable degree by con- 
sistent use and education, to-wit: 

"A writer in the Paris Herald, in writing of the Berlin 
police dogs, speaks of the breeds selected for this work being 
the German Sheepdogs, Airedale Terriers and Doberman Pin- 
schers. Major Klein handles this branch of the 'polizei' ser- 
vice, and in mentioning incidents of their usefulness, has the 
following anecdote to relate of the Airedale Frika: 'One of 
her cleverest accomplishments was the finding of a chest which 
had contained papers worth 60,000 marks, stolen from the 
Osterode residence of a Berlin merchant. After having the 
scent given her, Frika went straight to the house of a certain 
shoemaker. The man was not at home, but the dog was al- 
lowed to go through his rooms. In a few minutes Frika left 
the house and ran directly to the edge of a small lake near 
by. She made repeated efforts to plunge into the water, but 
was prevented from so doing until her master concluded there 
might be "something it it" and in a few minutes she had 
located the missing strong box, which had been sunk in the 
lake near the bank. The shoemaker, who was arrested, at 
first denied his guilt but finally confessed.' " 

Does a Dog Reason? 

The writer once received a grown Airedale at his kennel 
from the mountain districts of Idaho, where the dog had been 
accustomed to his freedom. He was confined in a kennel, sur- 
rounded by a picket fence, which no dog had successfully 
jumped. Loose on the place was another grown dog, Victor 
by name. Beyond the usual salutations between strange dogs, 
nothing had been noticed in their disposition of regard one for 
the other. In the evening Victor was heard making an un- 
usual fuss at the kitchen door, whining and crying. His 
keeper went to the door and admonished him to keep still, and 
was called a second time by his unusual disturbance, planning 
to whip the dog for his annoyance. When reaching the door, 
Victor immediately receded and kept whining, as much as to 
say, "Come with me quick." Thinking the dog's actions 
strange, he lighted his lantern and followed the dog to see 
what such unusual actions might mean. Victor led him 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 



15! 



around two buildings, a distance of some two hundred feet 
amid great excitement, and took him to where the new oc- 
cupant of the kennel was hung by the neck between two 
pickets, voiceless and with but one or two more minutes to 
live. The keeper quickly released the Airedale from his pre- 
dicament and his life was saved. There was little reason to 
expect Victor to interest himself in this dog's fatal predica- 
ment, as he had never known the dog until the evening of the 
accident. Question: Does a dog's mind reason? 

Willing to Assist. 

J. F. Williams, Monroe street hotel proprietor of Detroit, 
is the proud owner of an Airedale Terrier. In addition to being 
well bred, a good looker and having great intelligence, the 
dog "Bud," as he is called, has won Mr. Williams' heart by a 
great display of loyalty and courage. Mr. Williams reside on 
Dexter Boulevard, way out in the thinly settled section of this 
fashionable drive of Detroit. Saturday night, October 20, he 
started for home after midnight with "Bud," going out on a 
Grand River avenue car. Getting off at Quincy street, dog and 
owner proceeded across toward home. About a block off Grand 
River two negroes approached, asking Mr. Williams the time. 
As one of them spoke Mr. Williams noticed he had a big ugly 
looking knife in his hand, and assuming their intentions were 
not of the best, Mr. Williams stepped back and called "Bud," 
who was close by in the road. The Airedale came right up on 
the scene and immediately jumped at the throat of the armed 
negro, upsetting him. They tussled for a few moments, when 
the negro got up and ran. "Bud" immediately gave his atten- 
tion to the second hold-up man, who had stood still, and Mr. 
Williams says, "what Bud did to him was a sin." 




This hunting Airedale has made the frequent mistake of mixing 
with a porcupine and gotten "quilled" 



156 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



Using Airedales to Capture Mountain Lions Alive. 

Mr. C. Cobb relates tbe following in "Dogs of America": 

"Tracking and capturing live mountain lions with Airedale 
Terriers is a sport that is not known in the East. Of course, 
one reason for this is that there are no mountain lions in the 
East. After that reason has been given, it is like the fellow 
without money, the other nine hundred and ninety-nine reasons 
why he is not a millionaire don't count. 

"The hunt of which I write took place on January 8. The 
telephone bell rang and when I picked up the receiver my 
friend at the other end, about fifteen miles out of town, told 
me he had just discovered fresh lion tracks and asked me to 
bring the dogs out. To come out meant catching the train 
with the dogs in twenty-five minutes. But the train has a 
habit of being late, and the snow Was heavy, so I went home 
and got my snowshoes and a little stuff that I had ready and 
the two old dogs, Briar Test and High License. The dogs 
were eager to be off, sensing something. The air was bully 
and crisp and we hiked to the station. The train was on time. 
I had just time to pass the pair to the baggageman and climb 
aboard. After a thirty-minute run we climbed out. There 
was a hike of five miles to where the track had been picked 
up. But the going was good and with snowshoes we made it 
in a short time. 

"When I saw the tracks I knew they were made by a 
couple of small lions, and felt we had an easy time ahead. 
We followed the tracks over a stony ridge and down into a 
thicket. Here the lions had broken through and we saw the 
tracks were very fresh. A little farther on the dogs showed 
signs of breaking, and then Briar Test and High License tried 
their best to slip their collars. Thinking it was time to let 
them go, I freed them. Away they went at a terrific speed. 
The first thought was that they had winded a deer and was 
about to blow the horn when High License cut loose as though 
in great pain. Her pain, however, was just plain everday 
chagrin or jealousy or whatever you want to call it, because 
she was unable to keep up with her mate, who had the scent 
perfectly and was chasing the lions by it. We hurried on, 
but it is hard going and tiring running on snowshoes. I got 
one of my shoes under something and did a fall that filled my 
mittens full of snow. Little things, however, are lost sight of 
when chasing dogs after big game. The dogs were soon 
out of hearing and after a time we stopped. We listened, 
with the wind in our favor, and then got the faint bark 
that told us our game had been treed. 

"Like a pair of fools we started on a useless run, because 
the dogs would have stayed where they were for twenty-four 
hours if we didn't get up to them. But then a person will do 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 157 



a lot of foolish things under excitement. We were hiking for 
some time before we came up in full view. If you never treed 
anything bigger than a coon, you don't know the satisfaction 
of being tired out and coming up and seeing the game sitting 
up in the air, tired, too, and treed after a long chase. There 
they were, a pair of half-grown lions. They were perched in 
the tree about twenty feet off the ground looking down on the 
Airedales that sat there tired and joyful at the bottom, unable 
to climb, but willing to take any chance if the others only 
would come down. 

"Whenever you find a story of a mountain lion tackling 
persons, put it down as fiction. Their principal food in this 
country is deer. It is estimated that a grown lion will average 
one deer a week, and he kills for the lust of killing. He will 
kill whether he is hungry or not. The average sized lion is 
about eight feet from tip to tip and weighs about 180 pounds. 
I have known them to measure nine feet ten inches and to 
weigh 225 pounds. 

"With a pole about ten feet long with a bit of branch left 
on as a hook over which to hang a noose I climbed up the 
tree and when I could reach a cat I slipped the noose over his 
head. Jake at the bottom of the tree gave the rope a jerk and 
it tightened. Then I put over another loop and it was drawn 
taut. With two ropes on him we jerked him out of the tree. 
I tied my rope to a tree and Jake held him until he was still. 
Over on his back, a pole down his belly and his hind and fore 
legs and head tied to pole and he was ready for traveling. 
Then the second cat was treated the same way. We rigged a 
sleigh out of fir boughs and the two cats were dragged back 
to town. A good afternoon's sport and some profit." 

His Master's Scent. 

Dr. P. J. Noer (The Noer Hospital, Wabeno, Wisconsin) 
writes of a very interesting experience, illustrative of the 
keen scent and in this case associated with memory, of an Aire- 
dale, Pete, he had purchased from C. H. Sweetser, of Seattle. 
Pete had been raised as the family and hunting companion of 
his former owner and was two years old at the time he was 
shipped to his new home in Wisconsin. It may be said here 
that he was particularly attached to his first and only master 
up to the time of his disposal. After Dr. Noer had had the 
dog for a few days and he was quite reconciled and accustomed 
to his new home and owner, one day in the doctor's mail 
there arrived a letter from Mr. Sweetser. "While reading the 
letter," Dr. Noer writes, "I was interrupted and dropped the 
hand containing the letter to my side. Pete, who was near, 
came up to me from behind and sniffed the letter and while 
doing so gave such unmistakable manifestation of delight, 
jumping about, whining and barking, that there could be no 



158 



ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



other explanation of the source of his pleasure, and there is no 
question in my mind but that Pete recognized his former 
master's scent on the letter from him. A little later I re- 
peated the 'performance' in the presence of my wife, and she 
also felt sure from Pete's unusual actions, which he had not 
previously shown us, that Pete recognized his former master's 
scent." (Attention is called to the fact that this letter had 
been handled by dozens of different mail clerks in its post 
route covering a 2000-mile journey.) 

Briar Answers the Telephone. 

Dr. J. W. Marshall, of Owen Sound, Ontario, owns a clever 
Airedale he calls Briar: He writes he is the best known dog 
in the town: When he is on the street you will hear everyone 
calling Briar: He performs some of the most human tricks 
imaginable. For instance, only yesterday the office nurse 
left the receiver down on one of our office telephones and 
forgot it. After awhile, Briar came whining and bothering 
me as I was working on a patient: He does this same thing 
every day when the town clock strikes the five-minute bell 
signalling the approach of noon. Briar knows this is the warn- 
ing to go to dinner and he is then at my feet whining until I 
get on my coat. Well, yesterday, he was doing this at 10 a. m., 
so I drove him back to his nest. He came the second time. 
I drove him away explaining to him that the bell had not 
struck, scolding him for it. He came the third time, so I 
turned and he led me to the phone and jumped up on the 
chair and put his nose to the receiver, which was hanging 
down. I put it up, patted him "good dog," and he went and 
lay down until the bell rang. I have taught him to respect 




Briar and His Playmate 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 159 



a cat wherever he meets one, and his daily playmate is our 
office pussy. He does scores of funny things: He will salute 
a soldier at any time, and set up a great howl when we put 
"God Save the King" on the phonograph. We can play the 
thing all day and he will lie unconcerned as an oyster, but put 
"God Save the King" on, and I will bet a Ten, it will not 
get to the third note, till he is howling. 

As a Sheep-Dog. 

Mr. C. G. Boiler, of Vina, California, uses Airedales to 
attend and drive his large flocks of sheep on the range, and 
the following expresses his estimation of them and his experi- 
ence with his dogs: "The Airedale without doubt is the 
smartest dog living today. I have never tried to teach Tuk 
anything but hunt and have never seen her equal. Ruler I 
have taught lots of things. He is a good hunter, drives sheep, 
retrieves ducks, trees wildcats, and anything I have started to 
teach him he has learned. Last fall the herder lost two lambs 
in the mountains. One got it into his head he was going to 
get away, so into the creek he jumped. It was a good big 
stream and he swam across to the other side and into a deep 
hole and there he was lodged against a high bank and there 
was no way to get at him to bring him back. Ruler was 
taking in the situation and was told to go and get the lamb. 
In he went and he took hold of the lamb's neck very carefully 
and brought him back as though he were a duck. I brought 
one of his pups into the house the other evening, sat him on a 
chair and gave him a stick to hold in his mouth. I put a 
string on his neck so as to know him when I got home. The 
following evening my wife told me that the pup had been 
packing sticks around all day and bringing the wood into the 
house for her." 

Wolfhounds vs. Airedales. 

Mr. Tyler Henshaw tells of an experience of two of his 
Airedales which aptly illustrates what Airedales are capable 
*jf in mortal combat when circumstances forced upon them the 
conditions related. Mr Henshaw 's brother, it seems, had been 
rsing Russian Wolfhounds to protect the livestock on his lar^e 
ranch in Mendocino County, California, and expressed himself 
as skeptical about the gameness of the Airedale in co7/ote 
killing and other predatory animals, so the two bitches, Lake- 
Dell Trip and Vixen, both daughters of Lady Marvel, a partic- 
ularly game Airedale on big-game hunting, were sent up to 
the ranch to be tried cut. On arrival they were given a 
kennel alongside two large Wolfhounds that were kept con- 
fined because of their viciousness. Much talk was occasioned 
by the advent of the Airedales and speculation as to their 
comparative fighting abilities with the large and experienced 



160 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



Wolfhounds, for the Airedales were nothing much to look at, 
being the hunting type, and in weight 45 pounds for Trip and 
about 50 for Vixen. After all predictions had been made, 
their keeper, to his utter surprise, the next morning after their 
arrival, found that during the night previous the Wolfhounds 
had torn their way through the wire fencing, and had mixed 
it with Trip and Vixen, and one of the Wolfhounds was found 
dead in the kennel yard of the Airedales and the other in a 
dying condition in the next pen. What a battle it must have 
been? As there were no spectators to intervene, this acci- 
dental test of the wonderful fighting abilities of the Airedale 
and their gameness to the limit of physical test is noteworthy. 
The two Airedales, barring being slashed some by the punish- 
ing Wolfhound teeth, were quite fit after their encounter and 
are two individuals of remarkably docile and gentle disposi- 
tion, but as quick as lightning when in action." 

Ted Guards His "Pal." 

Detroit Press: "A keen west wind, biting cold, swept the 
broad expanse of Lafayette avenue, today; a wind so cold 
that even the sunlight had little of heat to offer, but though 
he shivers and suffers from its effects it is all the same to 
'Ted,' the big Airedale, for his little friend is dead. 

"All last night he kept guard over the body of the little 
fox terrier which was his special care and, though exhausted 
and in evident pain from the intense cold, he refused to leave 
the corner at Hubbard avenue and Lafayette boulevard, where 
his 'pal' was killed. Other dogs of the neighborhood have 
come with their offerings of sympathy and have tried in their 
dog fashion to assuage the sorrow of 'Ted,' but their efforts 
have been in vain. One and all have been driven away from 
the tiny form which lies at the roadside. Playfellows they had 
been for months past, the Airedale and the small fox terrier 
boasting no home and no pedigree. 

"The children of the neighborhood who had marked the 
great friendship which existed between the two dogs had 
tried with inducements of food and marks of affection to tempt 
'Ted' away so that the body of the other dog could be removed, 
but no amount of persuasion could get 'Ted' from the friend 
he guarded. In life he was the protector of the smaller animal, 
and in death he evidently resolved that no further harm would 
be allowed to come his way. 

"A passing automobile came too swiftly on the little dog, 
yesterday afternoon. Injured, he crawled into the cover of 
the bushes at the side of the road to die. All the wailing of 
his larger friend could not save his life, and though the form 
was still and cold 'Ted' refused to believe that his playfellow 
was gone. Those who came with a show of bringing relief 



AIREDALE ANECDOTES 161 



to the little dog were welcomed by 'Ted,' but anyone who 
showed any disposition to remove it from his sight soon saw 
his ill-will by a snarl and strong attack. 

"Only Ted's obedience to his master's call brought an 
end to the situation after a two days' vigil, and now Ted 
makes his pilgrimage daily to the scene of his little pal's 
disaster and takes seeming comfort in the scant scent of what 
was for him everything that friendship in dog life could be." 

Was It an Airedale? 

While Congressman William Kent was campaigning in the 
mountains of Mendocino County, California, he stopped at a 
wayside inn one evening, joined the group of mountaineers 
round the big fireplace, and listened to the general conversa- 
tion, which in that section is limited to two topics — sheepdogs 
and deerhounds. 

"The best I ever knew," observed one of the settlers, "was 
a kind of mixture of hound, shepherd an' waterspan'el; an' a 
Injun owned it. If he tuck out his rifle the dog wouldn't run 
nothing but deer. If he tuck out his shotgun it wouldn't look 
at nothin' but quail or grouse. One day he took out his fish- 
pole. The dog glanced at it an' went to diggin' bait. 

"The Injun usen to make good money hirin' it out to fellers 
that come up fum the city a-huntin' deer, gettin' his five dollars 
a day. He'd go 'long with the dog, beat up a canon, jump a 
deer an' chase it up where the fellers could get a shot at it — 
Injun yippin' right 'long with the dog. After a while it got old 
an' fat an' couldn't run no more; so the Injun used to hire 
himself out to do it. He wasn't so fast as the dog, but he 
was surer, 'cause he savvied a little better which way to herd 
'em." 

"I'd like to see that Indian," observed Kent. "Is he 
around here?" 

"No," the old man shook his head regretfully. "You see, 
deer got scarce after a while an' the Injun got to chasin' 
jackrabbits — so they had to kill him." 



162 ALL ABOUT AIREDALES 



"A CLASSIC" 

Ladd Public Schools, 
G. Frank Townley, Superintendent, 
Ladd, Illinois, March 20, 1917. 
To Mr. R. M. Palmer, Seattle, Washington. 
Dear Mr. "Lake-Dell": 

Ef y' read this 'ere effusion thru, you'll say "He's got his 

nerve." 
An' I'm willin' to admit yer right, it's jest what I'll deserve. 
But, I'm all worked up with readin' that "bully" good book uv 

yours . 
On th' Airedale, an' his virtues, his breedin', ills, an' cures. 

Shure, it seems a kind uv natur'l in one from Erin's bog, 
To join y' when y' sing th' praise uv man's best fren' th' dog, 
Ever since I wuz a "spalpeen" I have owned 'most every kind, 
An' some were good, an' some were bad, an' some were — never 
mind. 

It doesn't take a thorobred to love an' understand 
The man who is his master, an' to lick that master's hand, 
An' that's why th' Missoury man, a lookin' at his noun' 
Gave out a note uv warnin' "Quit kickin' my dawg aroun'." 
O, thar ain't no better company, at hum, or as y' walk 
Than that little active "crittur" who can do 'most all but talk; 
If y' look for faithful service he's never known t' fail, 
He answers y' with lovin' eyes, an' waggin' uv his tail. 

But really Mr. Palmer, this is what I meant to say: 
I have never owned an Airedale, an' p'raps I never may, 
I do not want a mongrel, but, to own a "crack-a-jack" 
Means a mighty pile o' siller, just th' very thing I lack. 

But, th' pictur's uv th' "champeens," an' yer own real doggy 

notes 
Make me feel as if I'm huntin' cougars, bob-tails, an' coyotes, 
So, I'm makin' bold t' ask y' (Ef y' answer well an' good, 
If not, I'm takin' no offense, let that be understood.) 

Do y' ever, in a litter come across a little pup 
That, judgin' by th' standard would hardly measure up 
To rank among the "champeens," tho to th' purple bred, 
Because uv some slight blemish in eye, or coat, or head? 

If y' do (I'd like a female) p'raps you'd see yer way 
To tell me what y' think she's worth, so that p'raps I may 
At last possess an Airedale, an' one that's really good, 
For she'll have th' LAKE-DELL breedin' an' nothin' counta 
like blood. 

Yours unblushingly, 

G. FRANK TOWNLEY. 



Ladd, Illinois, June 6, 1917. 

Dear Mr. Palmer: For some time I have been planning to write you 
about our doggie, Lake-Dell Merry, but the closing days of school kept me 
very busy and so I let the matter go over. 

Well, from the day when she landed, she has been a source of pleasure 
to me and my family. She has her own way and is developing into a 
splendid animal. You certainly have not overrated the natural intelligence 
of the Airedale, etc. Q. FRANK TOWNLEY. 



THE PALMER AIREDALES 




READY 



We 1) r e e d the 

standard, large, use- 
ful Airedale, t h e 
ideal "pal" at home, 
the incomparable 
hunting companion 
atield, and the un- 
equalled protector of 
property, family or 
livestock. There is a 
wide variance in tem- 
peraments of differ- 
ent strains of the 
Airedale. 

If you want The 
Trustworthy Sort get 
a Lake - Dell - hred 
Airedale. 



"Lake-Dell" Airedales have been the Silver Cup win- 
ners in Canada at Victoria, Vancouver and Calgary shows, 
and on the Pacific Coast at Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, 
Everett, Portland, Oakland, Venice, Santa Cruz and San 
Francisco shows, in the keenest of competition, and were 
the ci;p winners for best Airedale puppy at Seattle show, 
1917 and 1919. 



PUPPIES FOR SALE AT 
REASONABLE PRICES 



LAKE-DELL KENNEL 

R. M. PALMER (Owner) 
8447 Renton Avenue Seattle, Washington 

(Registered in American and United Kennel Clubs) 

"START WITH THE BEST" 



MAILYOUR ORDER 

For all Airedale Necessities to 

The Randall-McLoughlin Co. of Seattle, U.S.A., and 
YOUR POSTMAN 

will deliver to your door all mailable articles desired to keep your 
Airedale in first-class condition. Some of our new and up-to-date 
offerings are : 

INVICTA DOG MEAL 

This is manufactured exclusively by the Randall-McLaughlin Co. and 
contains the cereal elements of diet recommended ia the Chapter on 
F'eeding of this book. It is specially prepared under sanitary condi- 
tions in our new factory — a balance cereal ration, perfectly mixed with 
cooked meat and is 

READY TO FEED 

One tried — always used. Fed as moist mash with warm water, 
buttermilk or soups. 10-lb. sacks, 75 cents; 25-lb sacks, $1.50 (plus 
expressage). 

CONDENSED BUTTERMILK 

Buttermilk is the most healthful daily dependence in dog feeding. 
Its lactic acidity and fats maintain perfect food assimilation and keep 
system free from intestinal parasites. Puppies grow strong and robust 
with its use. Having buttermilk always available is made possible 
by Condensed Buttermilk, which keeps indefinitely in any climate. 
Used to mix up food mash with. 5 -gallon kegs (dilutes 40 to 1). 
Price $4.00 (plus expressage). 

INVICTA WHITE BONE MEAL 

Developes splendid growth in puppies — makes straight legs and 
avoids rickets. 10-lb. sacks, 60 cents (plus expressage). 

LIME AND SULPHUR COMPOUND 

Diluted in warm water, stops your dog from scratching — Cools 
overheated systems — Cures mange and keeps the dog in nice coat. 
Per package, 50 cents postpaid. 

A complete stock of the world celebrated "Spratt's Patent" prep- 
arations is available at all times. Each one is reliable. (Send for 
list, given in full in our catalogue). 

The following are in constant demand and needed by all dog 
owners: 

Spratt's Tonic and Condition Tablets (to build up after sickness 
and to condition the system for exhibiting). Price per package, 
60 cents postpaid. 

Spratt's Worn Capsules (Expels round, maw and tapeworm). 
Price per package, 60 cents postpaid. 

Spratt's Alterative Cooling Tablets (For heated blood, etc.) Price 
per package, 60 cents postpaid. 

Spratt's Chronic Skin Disease Tablets (For obstinate cases of 
manage and eczema). Price, 60 cents postpaid. 

Also Spratt's Dog Cakes, Puppy Cakes, and Puppy Meal. Shipped 
by express C. O. D. (any quantity). 

Address 

The Randall-McLoughlin Co. 

(Factory and Office) 

320 Westlake North, Seattle, Washington, U. S. A. 



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